THE    CAPTVltE   OF   TICONVEBOGA. 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS 


BEFORE    THE 


VERMONT 

HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

DELIVERED   AT 

MONTPELIER,   VT., 

OW   TUESIDA-Y    E VEISTIOSrCa-,  COTOBBJIi    8,   1872. 

By  I  on.  LUCIUS  E.  CHITTENDEN. 


RUTLAND: 

TUTTLE    &    COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 
1872. 


Ts 
cs 


«U101 


The  following  Joint  RoBolution  was  adopted  by  the  Senate 

and  House  of  Representatives,  at  their  biennial  session,  1872: 

liesolced  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  That  the  Secretary  of 
the  Senate  be,  and  hereby  is,  directed  to  procure  the  printing  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  copies  of  the  valuable  and  instructive  address  of  the  Hon. 
L.  E.  Chittendkn  before  the  Vermont  Historical  Society,  for  the  use  of 
the  General  Assembly ;  that  there  be  furnished  to  each  member  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  three  copies  ;  to  each  Town  Clerk, 
one  copy  ,  to  each  college  and  academy  in  this  State,  one  copy  ;  to  each 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  one  copy  ;  to  the  Governor,  and  each  of  the 
heads  of  departments,  one  copy;  to  the  State  Library,  two  hundred 
copies ;  and  to  the  Vermont  Historical  Society,  five  hundred  copies  ;  such 
number  of  copies  as  shall  remain  after  distribution  as  above,  to  be  equally 
divided  between  the  public  libraries  of  the  State,  not  otherwise  supplied 
by  this  resolution,  under'  the  direction  of  the  State  Libi*arian. 

The  followuig  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Hon.  L.  E.  Chit- 
tenden : 

OFFfCE  OF  THE  SeCKETAHY  OF  THE  SENATE,  > 

MONTPELIEU,  Vt.,  Oct.  16,  1872.      J 
Dear  Sir  :  By  a  Joint  Resolution  adopted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  I  am  directed  to  procure  the  printing  of  the  valuable 
and  instructive  address  delivered  by  you  before  the  Vermont  Historical 
Society,  at  its  annual  meeting,  at  Montpelier,  on  the  8th  instant. 

I  would  respectfully  ask  that  you  furnish  me  with  a  copy  of  said 
address  for  publication. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

M.  B.  Carpenter,  Secretary  of  the  Senate. 

To  which  the  following  reply  was  received: 

25  West  30 rn  Street,  New  York,  Nov.  13, 1872. 
My  Dear  Sir :  I  have  received  your  note  of  the  16th  ult.,  inclosing  a 
copy  of  a  Joint  Resolution  of  the  Legislature  of  Vermont,  and  request- 
ing for  publication  a  copy  of  my  recent  address  before  the  Vermont  His- 
torical Society. 

Although  this  address  was  prepared  with  no  purpose  of  immediate  pub- 
lication, I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline  a  request  preferred  in  such  cour- 
teous terms,  which,  perhaps,  indicates  an  opinion  of  the  Legislature  that 
the  paper  may  have  some  permanent  value.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  com- 
plying with  it,  and  transmit  the  copy,  which  you  will  receive  with  thia 

letter. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

L.  E.  CHITTENDEN. 
M.  B.  Carpenter,  Esq., 

Secretary  of  the  Senate,  Montpelier,  Vt. 


Introductory  Note. 


The  following  paper  was  read  before  the  Vermont  Historical 
Society,  at  a  special  meeting  of  its  members,  held  at  Ticonderoga, 
oa  the  18th  of  June,  1872,  and  was  repeated,  at  the  request  of  the 
Society,  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  Montpel- 
ier,  on  the  8th  of  the  following  October.  In  order  to  preserve  the 
address  in  its  original  form,  those  portions  which  indicate  its  deliv- 
ery on  the  ground  where  the  events  transpired,  to  which  it  refers, 
have  not  been  changed,  and  it  is  now  printed  as  first  prepared. 
It  was  intended  to  print  the  letters  and  documents  which  are  re- 
ferred to,  in  full ;  but  these  are  so  numerous  that  only  a  few  of  the 
more  important  have  been  retained.  But  reference  is  made  to  all, 
and  the  effort  has  been  made  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  depositaries 
of  all  the  known  material  evidence  which  bears  upon  the  capture 
of  Ticonderoga,  in  May,  1775. 

The  unweai-ied  industry  and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Force  has 
brought  many  of  these  documents  together  in  that  monument  of 
his  research  known  as  "  The  American  Archives."  To  avoid  fre- 
quent repetition  of  the  title,  unless  special  indication  to  the  contrary 
is  given,  reference  is  made  to  the  Second  Volume  of  the  Fourth 
Series  of  the  American  Archives,  by  the  use,  in  the  notes,  of  Mr. 
Force's  name,  without  other  addition. 


Address 


TicoNDEROGA — The  lock  to  the  Gate  of  the  Country.  It 
bars  the  entrance  to  the  natural  highway  of  Champlain,  over 
which  for  generations  swept  the  bloody  tide  of  unrelenting 
war — a  war  so  ancient  that,  when  the  white  man  first  came 
thither,  he  found  no  living  man  who  could  tell  of  its  beginning, 
— so  continuous  that  its  refluent  wave  rarely  ceased  its  flow, 
until,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  the  great  families  who 
waged  it  had  vanished  from  the  earth,  and  peace  spread  her 
silvery  wings  over  a  new  nation,  celebrating  its  victory  around 
the  first  altar  of  freedom  erected  on  American  shores. 

Nature  chooses  all  the  theatres  upon  which  the  nations  settle 
their  controversies  by  the  arbitrament  of  battle.  Tliey  are  few 
in  number  and  limited  in  area.  The  plains  of  Greece,  Northern 
Italy,  the  shores  of  the  Khine,  the  valleys  of  lower  Virginia ! — 
how  many  battles  they  have  witnessed,  what  countless  multi- 
tudes of  warriors  they  have  entombed  1  But  not  one  of  them 
has  been  the  scene  of  war  so  prolonged,  continuous,  savage  and 
cruel  as  that  which  ended  with  the  Peace  of  Paris,  which  for 
centuries  before  had  raged  in  the  valley  of  Lake  Champlain. 

Its  commencement  was  prehistoric.  When,  in  1609,  the 
French  explorer  first  undertook  to  penetrate  this  wilderness, 
the  Indians  of  Canada  told  him  it  was  the  home  of  their  he- 
reditary enemies.     Champlain  gives  us  one  glan(;e  at  their  fierce 


6 

cnconnters,  and  the  curtain  falls  for  almost  fifty  years ;  though 
belniul  its  folds  we  may  still  hear  the  war  cry  of  tlie  Savage 
and  the  slwielc  of  his  tortured  prisoner.  Tlien  follows  anotiier 
century,  the  few  but  vivid  records  of  wliich  are  gleaned  from  the 
relations  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  whose  history  in  New  J^rance  is 
a  marvel  of  missionary  self-sacrifice  and  devotion.  Finally,  the 
contest  bacomes  Icnown  as  tiie  French  and  Indian  war,  and 
thenceforward  we  have  its  written  history. 

Tlie  frontier  which  separated  these  two  great  aboriginal  fami- 
lies was  nearly  coincident  with  that  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  The  vidleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Ottawa 
comprised  numerous  tribes  of  brave,  muscular,  athletic  war- 
riors, who,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  may  be  called  Algoidiins. 
Farther  west,  extending  to  the  great  lakes,  lived  the  powerful 
Hurons,  their  friends  and  allies.  Their  enemies  were  the  Iro- 
quois, whose  hunting  grounds  extended  from  the  western 
slope  of  tlie  Green  Mountains  to  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  On- 
tario. Their  princjipal  villages  were  in  Central  New  York,  in  a 
line  extended  west  from  the  south  end  of  Lake  George.  History 
gives  no  account  of  a  native  race,  surpassing  the  Iroquois  in  all 
tlie  qualities  which  constitute  the  savage  ideal  of  physical  per- 
fection. Tliey  v/ere  tall  and  erect  in  stature,  tlieir  limbs  were 
as  active  and  strong  as  those  of  the  trained  atlilete.  It  was 
tlieir  chief  pride,  next  to  skill  and  courage  in  battle,  that  they 
were  insensible  to  pain,  fatigue  and  hunger.  The  business  of 
their  lives  was  war  against  their  northern  enemies.  To  this 
they  were  educated  from  infancy.  Their  sports  as  well  as  their 
labors  tended  to  their  physical  development.  In  their  educa- 
tion nothing  was  omitted  which  could  make  them  cruel,  proud 
and  bra^  e,  superior  to  physical  hardship,  insensible  to  tortures 
such  as  .iould  only  be  devised  by  savage  ingenuity.  They  con- 
stituted a  great  power  among  the  native  families.  On  tlie  west, 
they  conquered    and  annihilated   the  Erie  nation,  and  swept 


over  western  Pennsylvania  to  tlie  mountains  of  Virginia.  On 
the  north,  they  maintained  unconqnered  a  war  of  two  hundred 
years.  On  the  east,  their  neighbors  sought  safety  in  peace. 
No  confederacy  of  native  tril)es,  equally  powerful,  ever  existed 
between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi. 

As  in  all  wars,  the  for.'^unes  of  this  sanguinary  contest  were 
variable.  In  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  rier.tury,  vi(!tory 
appears  to  have  been  with  the  northern  tribes,  for  they  forced 
the  Iroquois  back  from  the  outlet  of  Lake  Champlain  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Hudson.  From  this  position  the  Iroquois 
villages  were  never  again  advanced.  Tlie  Champlain  valley 
was  left  a  broad  frontier,  over  which  invading  parties  passed, 
and  upon  which  they  met  in  fierce  encounter.  In  the  absence 
of  Indian  towns,  it  became  a  nursery  for  game,  through  which 
the  larger  animals  rormed  in  countless  nutnbers.  The  reason 
is  tlnis  apparent  wliy  so  few  remains  of  Indian  towns  are  found 
in  western  Vermont,  and  why  the  evidences  of  aboriginal  occu- 
pation indicate  routes  or  war  paths  instead  of  local  stations. 

Champlain  made  two  visits  to  this  valley,  upon  each  occasion 
in  company  with  a  war  party.  Arrived  at  Quebec  in  1609,  ho 
made  an  engagement  with  the  Algonkins,  that  they  should  assist 
his  discoveries  in  the  countr}'^  of  the  Iroquois,  if  he  would  assist 
them  in  their  war  "against  that  fierce  people,  who  spared  nothing 
that  belonged  to  them."'''  In  the  singularl}'  minute  and  truth- 
ful relation  of  his  first  expedition,  he  records  the  first  meeting 
in  this  region  between  the  opposing  forces  of  barbarism  and 
civilization.  It  occurred  on  the  northern  extremity  of  Crown 
Point,  on  the  29th  of  July,  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  years 
ago. 

The  parties  were  large — the  battle  fierce — its  fortunes  waver- 
ing, when  it  was  decided  by  the  arquebuss  of  Champlain — the 
first  report  of  a  fire-arm  which  awoke  the  echoes  of  that  valley. 

<•)  Chaniplain's  Voyages,  Ed-.  1633,  p.  134. 


8 

Before  it,  two  Iroquois  cliiefs  fell  dead,  a  third  mortally  wound- 
ed. From  the  preseuee  of  a  power  to  them  aupenmtural,  their 
warriors  fled  in  terror,  leaving  a  number  of  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  Ciiamplain's  party.  A  new  fonie  had  been  iptro- 
duced  into  their  warfare,  which  in  the  end  was  to  destroy  both 
opposing  parties.  That  niglit,  on  the  Vermont  shore,  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  battle-ground,  they  sacrificed  a  prisoner  with 
tortures  such  as  none  but  American  Indians  ever  conceived. 

There  was  a  singular  synchronism  in  the  march  of  civiliza- 
tion upon  both  extremes  of  this  great  route  of  communication. 
In  the  same  summer  of  ChampUin's  discovery,  Hudson  sailed 
up  the  river  which  bears  his  name.  The  French  settlements  at 
Montreal,  and  the  Dutch  at  Albany,  began  at  the  same  time 
and  advanced  with  equal  steps.  These  controlled  the  fortunes 
of  the  war.  But  the  motives  which  brouglit  the  two  nations 
hither  were  widely  different.  The  conversion  of  the  Indians 
to  Catholicism  invited  the  French  ;  trade  impelled  the  Dutch. 
It  was  the  policy  of  the  former  to  prevcjnt  the  introduction  of 
fire-arms,  of  the  latter  to  encourage  them.  The  effect  was 
quickly  apparent.  The  Iroquois,  no  longer  content  with  resist- 
ing invasion,  became  invaders.  I  have  not  the  time  even  to 
sketch  the  course  of  this  war  movement  from  1 635  to  the  end 
of  that  century.  Durin  ^  that  period,  there  was  probably  not  a 
year  in  whicli  a  war  party  did  not  pass  down  the  lake  to  Can- 
ada, and  often  a  dozen  were  absent  from  their  villages  at  the 
same  time.  They  lay  in  ambush  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
returned  triumphant  with  their  spoils  and  prisoners.  It  was 
during  this  period  that  Father  Jogues  and  other  French  mis- 
Bionaries,  with  numerous  Algonkin  converts,  were  carried  up 
the  lakes  to  the  Iroquois  towns,  where  they  found  their  crowns 
of  martyrdom  with  all  its  surroundings  of  savage  cruelty. 

At  length  the  Canadian  Indians  and  French  were  threatened 
with  annihilation.     To  save  their  own  lives,  the  French  were 


9 

driven  to  take  part  in  the  war.  They  armea  tlie  Indians,  led 
their  expeditions,  and  checked  the  Iroquois  in  tlieir  tide  of  vic- 
tory. The  southern  ti'ibes  sought  the  same  assistance  from 
their  English  neighbors.  The  war  was  prosecuted  by  alternate 
invasions,  until  fii.ally  the  quarrel  merged  in  tlie  great  contest 
between  the  tranf.- A.tlantic  powers  of  England  and  France. 
Thenceforward,  with  seapons  of  peace  on  the  Eastern  Conti- 
nent, the  war  herb  wm  almost  continuous. 

In  all  this  warfare,  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga  were  the 
chief  objective  points.  Tlie  temptation  is  strong  to  linger  over 
its  details,  for  its  complete  history  has  never  been  written,  and 
we  have  not  even  a  list  of  its  battles.  But  I  cannot  even  refer 
to  all  the  events  of  the  twenty  years  preceding  the  peace  of 
Paris,  which  are  necessary  to  illustrate  the  military  importance 
of  these  position?,  and  to  understand  their  connection  with  our 
own  Revolution. 

The  final  contest  between  the  two  great  powers  of  Europe, 
for  the  control  of  the  Champlain  valley,  became  energetic  in 
the  year  1T55.  The  English  and  the  colonists  had  learned  by 
a  bloody  experience  that  tliere  could  be  no  peace  here  until  the 
French  were  driven  from  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  which 
they  held  with  great  tenacity  as  the  initial  stations  of  their  bar- 
barous incursions.  Gen.  William  Johnson,  in  this  year,  under- 
took their  capture,  with  an  army  of  thirty-five  hundred  New 
England  militia.  The  attempt  was  fruitless,  though  the  fight- 
ing qualities  of  the  colonists  secured  enough  successes  of  the 
British  arms,  near  Lake  George,  to  make  their  commander  a 
baronet.  Had  he  exhibited  capacity  to  command,  the  French 
might  have  been  swept  from  this  quarter  in  a  single  campai^^ii. 
It  was  his  fault  that  for  many  years  "  these  forests  were  never 
free  from  secret  dangers,  and  American  scalps  were  strung 
together  by  the  wakeful  savage,  for  the  adornment  of  his  wig- 
wam."<" 

w  Bancroft,  iv.  p.  208.  7 


10 

The  French  made  active  preparation  for  defense.  They 
called  to  this  frontier  the  entire  available  force  of  the  District 
of  Montreal.  By  the  end  of  August,  wlien  Johnson's  army 
had  reached  Lake  George,  Dieskau,  the  French  commander, 
had  gathered  here  seven  hundred  regulars,  sixteen  hundred 
Canadians  and  six  hundred  savages.  The  impetuous  French- 
man did  not  wait  for  an  attack.  Dashing  forward  to  strike  his 
inactive  adversary,  he  mistook  his  route,  and  on  the  7th  of  Sep- 
tember found  himself  between  Fort  Edward  and  Lake  George. 
He  was  just  in  time  to  form  an  ambush  for  a  thousand  colo- 
nists, who  had  been  sent  under  Col.  Ephraim  Williams  to  re- 
lieve Fort  Edward.  Among  the  latter  was  the  brave  and  ven- 
erable Hendrick,  chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  with  two  hundred 
of  his  braves.  Led  into  the  ambush,  surrounded  by  invisible 
foes,  defense  was  impossible,  and  Hendrick  and  Williams  fell, 
with  many  of  their  men.  Whiting,  of  Connecticut,  extricated 
the  remainder  of  the  force,  and  with  it  retreated  to  Johnson's 
camp,  fighting  every  step  of  the  way. 

The  camp  was  not  intrenclied.  Dieskau,  whose  motto  was, 
"  Boldness  wins,"  dashed  on,  hoping  to  enter  the  camp  with 
the  fugitives.  But  he  mistook  the  temper  of  the  New  Eng- 
land militia.  Though  abandoned  by  their  commander,  who 
left  the  field  mth.  the  excuse  of  a  slight  wound  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  action,  these  marksmen  of  the  woods  not 
only  checked  the  French  assault,  but  for  five  hours  poured 
into  their  ranks  such  a  withering  fire  as  they  had  never 
before  encountered.  The  French  regulars  were  annihilated. 
The  Indians  and  Canadians,  crouching  in  the  bushes,  kept  out 
of  the  range  of  the  fire.  At  length  tlie  Americans  rushed 
over  their  slight  works,  and  put  the  whob  French  army  to 
flight.  A  French  renegade  wantonly  shot  down  their  intrepid 
and  thrice-wounded  connnander.  Among  tlio  privates  of  the 
American  army  in  this  action  were  Israel  Putnam,  of  Connec- 
ticut, and  John  Stark,  of  New  Hampshire.  ._^  _,  _ 


11 

The  battle  did  not  end  with  the  fall  of  Dieskau.  A  body 
of  three  hundred  New  Hampshire  men,  commanded  by  Mc- 
Ginnis,  crossing  from  the  fort  to  the  lake,  just  at  nightfall,  fell 
in  with  three  hundred  Canadians  who  were  retreating  in  a 
body,  attacked  and  dispersed  tiiein,  capturing  all  their  baggage. 
The  victory  was  an  expensive  one,  for  it  cost  the  life  of  their 
brave  commander. 

Instead  of  following  up  an  enemy  no  longer  capable  of  re- 
sistance, and  capturing  the  forts  here  and  at  Crown  Point, 
Johnson  took  his  army  to  the  foot  of  Lake  George,  and  wasted 
the  autumn  in  building  a  wooden  fort,  subsequently  known  aa 
Fort  William  Henry.  The  Frencli,  whose  power  of  recupera- 
tion, then  as  now,  exceeded  tliat  of  any  other  nation,  profited  by 
his  inaction  to  fortify  themselves  at  Ticonderoga.  We  shall 
see,  hereafter,  how  costly  to  the  American  Colonies  was  this 
introduction  of  the  waiting  policy  in  war. 

Although  the  year  1756  passed  without  any  general  engage- 
ment, almost  every  week  witnessed  a  scout,  an  ambush,  or  a 
skirmish.  The  main  body  of  the  American'}  remained  near 
Fort  William  Henry,  where,  about  the  first  of  July,  Shirley, 
who  had  succeeded  Johnson,  gave  up  the  command  to  Aber- 
crombie.  During  this  sunnner,  Montcalm  arrived  from  France, 
hastened  to  this  place,  and  assumed  command  of  an  army  of 
about  five  thousand  men.  He  did  not  here  enter  upon  any 
active  operations  against  the  English ;  but,  having  made  him- 
self familiar  with  the  locality,  and  greatly  improved  its  de- 
fenses, hurried  to  Oswego,  which,  by  an  energetic  attack,  he 
captured.  This  year  was  signalized  by  the  commencement  of 
operations  by  the  Rangers,  under  Rogers  and  Stark,  who  were 
constantly  engaged  in  annoying  the  enemy  and  cutting  off  his 
detached  parties.  In  the  Frencli  market,  English  scalps  pro- 
duced sixty  livres,  or  about  twelve  dollars,  each ;  and  English 
prisoners  found  a  ready  sale,  in  Canada,  at  sixty  crowns.**' 

<•>  I.  Rogers'  Journal,  pp.  13-37. 


13 

The  year  1757  is  a  noted  one  in  the  history  of  the  valleyB 
of  Lakes  George  and  Champlain.  The  Bangers  held  Fort 
William  Henry  through  the  winter,  whence  they  kept  up  a  suc- 
cession of  attacks  upon  the  French.  On  the  15th  of  January, 
Stark  and  Rogers,  with  fifty  privates,  went  from  Fort  Edward 
to  William  Henry,  where  they  were  joined  by  thirty-two 
officers  and  men.  They  proceeded  down  the  lake,  and 
flanking  this  place,  struck  Lake  Champlain  about  midway  be- 
tween Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  There  they  attacked  a 
convoy  of  provisions,  coming  to  this  place  on  sledges  It  was 
a  successful,  though  rash  act,  for  there  were  four  times  their 
number  of  Frenchmen  in  their  rear.  Learning  from  their 
prisoners  the  number  of  men  at  the  two  forts.  Stark  and  Rog- 
ers at  once  set  out  on  their  return.  Within  a  half  mile  of  the 
shore,  two  hundred  and  fifty  French  and  Indians  fell  upon 
them.  Undismayed  by  superior  numbers,  they  fought  their 
way  back  to  Lake  George,  and  finally  reached  Fort  William 
Henry,  after  a  week's  absence,  and  the  loss  of  one-third  of 
their  party.**' 

Tlie  French  retaliated.  In  March,  a  party  of  fifteen  hund- 
red, under  the  command  of  Vaudreuil,  made  the  march  from 
this  place  on  snow-shoes,  drawing  their  provisions  on  sleds,  and 
attacked  Fort  William  Henry,  hoping  to  carry  it  by  surprise. 
They  were  not  successful,  and  were  compelled  to  retire,  after 
burning  a  few  boats,  some  outbuildings,  and  inflicting  other 
slight  injuries  upon  the  Americans. 

A  change  in  the  character  of  this  warfare,  was  now  impend- 
ing. The  skillful,  brave  and  energetic  Montcalm  assumed 
command  of  the  French,  and  at  once  prepared  for  oflfensive 
operations.  He  began  by  thoroughly  arousing  the  passions  of 
thirty-three  Indian  tribes,  which  had  been  collected  by  the 
French  Governor  at  Montreal.     He  secured  their  confidence, 

<*>  Rogers' Journal,  p.  44. 


13 

by  joining  in  their  dances,  singing  their  war  songs,  and 
they  placed  themselves  unreservedly  under  his  direction. 
With  their  excitement  at  the  highest  point,  he  set  out  with 
them  for  Ticonderoga.  He  reached  this  fort  with  the  largest 
Indian  war  party  ever  collected  upon  the  lake,  numbering  more 
thai,  two  hundred  canoes.  The  precise  number  of  men  he 
collected  here  and  at  Crown  Point,  we  do  not  know ;  but  it 
more  than  four  times  outnumbered  tlie  American  army  to 
which  it  was  opposed.  Montcalm  spent  but  little  time  in 
preparation, — long  enough,  however,  to  send  out  a  scouting 
party  toward  Fort  Edward,  which  returned  with  forty-two 
fresh-torn  American  scalps,  and  only  one  prisoner.  These 
trophies  excited  the  Indians  to  frenzy.  Montcalm  restrained 
them  with  dilKculty.  On  the  24th  July,  twenty  barges  of 
Americans,  under  Colonel  Parker,  appeared  on  the  laKC.  The 
Indians  rushed  upon  them,  took  one  hundred  and  sixty  prison- 
ers, killed  and  dispersed  the  rest  of  the  force.  The  succeeding 
ten   days  were  tilled  with  events  whicli   I  must  pass   over. 

It  must  suffice  to  say,  that  on  the  second  of  August, 
Montcalm,  with  an  army  of  eight  thousand  French  and 
Indians,  had  surrounded  Fort  William  Henry,  defended  by  less 
than  five  hundred  men  within  the  fort,  and  seventeen  hundred 
intrenched  around  it. 

You  know  what  a  bloody  tragedy  ensued  ;  how  the  gallant 
Monroe,  who  had  only  reached  the  fort  the  day  previous,  an- 
swered the  summons  to  surrender  with  defiance  ;  how  for  five 
days  he  held  the  place  against  tlie  assailing  host  of  mad  devils, 
directed  by  French  genius,  while  the  pusillanimous  Webb,  with 
an  army  c*'  five  thousand  men,  lay  trembling  at  Fort  Edward, 
and  answered  his  demands  for  assistance  by  advice  to  capitu- 
late ;  how,  when  aware  that  Webb's  letter  had  been  inter- 
cepted by  Montcalm,  who  thus  knew  that  all  his  hope  of  help 
was  cut  off,  he  would  not  treat  until  half  his  guns  were  burst, 


14 

and  his  ammunition  was  exhausted  ;  how  Montcahn,  generous 
to  so  brave  an  enemy,  granted  him  the  liberal  terms  of  march- 
ing his  men,  with  their  arms  and  baggage,  under  an  escort  to 
the  nearest  fort ;  how,  after  the  surrender,  the  gallant  French- 
man more  than  once  periled  his  life  to  keep  his  agreement ; 
and,  finally,  how  his  savage  allies  swung  the  relentless  toma- 
hawk against  their  defenseless  prisoners,  until  they  had  reduced 
the  army  to  a  herd  of  six  hundred  fugitives  under  the  shelter- 
ing guns  of  Fort  Edward  !  It  was,  indeed,  a  bloody  scene — - 
too  awful  for  description — the  most  cruel  and  devilish  which 
these  valleys,  the  battle-ground  of  centuries,  have  ever  wit- 
nessed !*'* 

This  campaign  well  nigh  extinguished  the  English  power  on 
this  frontier, — for,  if  Webb  did  not  give  up  Fort  Edward,  it 
was  because  he  was  not  attacked  in  his  paralysis  of  fear.  This 
fehameful  result  was  due  not  less  to  the  cowardice  of  the  Eng- 
lish commanders,  than  to  the  dashing  bravery  of  Montcalm. 
The  Rangers  alone  declined  to  participate  in  the  general  trepi- 
dation. They  hurried  forward  to  the  bloody  ground,  some  of 
them  within  twenty-four  hours  of  the  massacre,  and  until  the 
next  spring,  by  a  series  of  well-directed  attacks,  were  a  con- 
stant annoyance  to  the  enemy. 

A  change  in  the  British  Ministry,  which  brought  Mr,  Pitt 
into  the  Cabinet,  put  new  energy  into  the  prosecution  of  the 
war  in  America,  and,  from  the  year  1758,  affairs  in  the  colo- 
nies began  to  assume  a  more  favorable  aspect  But,  while 
British  arms  were  everywhere  else  triumphant,  the  day  of  dis- 
aster in  this  quarter  had  not  yet  closed.  In  the  season  of  1758, 
three  expeditions  were  undertaken  against  the  French.  One 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  Louisburg ;  another  in  that  of  Fort 
du  Quesne.  We  are  concerned  only  with  the  third — the 
largest,  the  most  promising — the  only  one  unsuccessful. 

(8)  See  Appendix  1. 


15 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  colonies,  animated  by  the  spirit  of 
the  home  government,  by  the  first  of  July,  had  collected  upon 
the  banks  of  Lake  George  the  most  numerous,  best  equipped, 
and  most  efl'ective  army  theretofore  mustered  on  American 
soil.  It  was  composed  of  nine  thousand  Provincials,  sixty-five 
hundred  British  regulars  and  six  hundred  rangers.  Abercrom- 
bie  was  nominally  at  the  head  of  the  force,  but  its  real  com- 
mander was  the  young,  brave  and  popular  Lord  Howe. 

At  early  dawn,  on  the  fifth  of  July,  these  soldiers,  sixteen 
thousand  in  number,  folded  their  tents  and  launclied  themselves 
on  the  placid  bosom  of  Lake  St.  Sacrament.  Their  movement 
required  a  thousand  boats,  exclusive  of  the  rafts  which  floated 
their  artillery.  The  glorious  pageant,  decked  with  waving 
banners,  cheered  by  the  strains  of  martial  music,  moved  slowly 
down  the  lake.  As  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun  flashed  trom 
their  glistening  bayonets  and  lit  up  the  contrast  between  the 
ecarlet  uniforms  of  the  regulars  and  the  wealth  of  green  in 
which  the  wilderness  was  clothed, — as  their  oars,  witli  meas- 
ured stroke,  broke  the  surface  of  that  lovely  sheet  of  water, 
its  lofty  shores  towered  above  such  a  military  display  as  they 
never  saw  before — may  never  witness  again.  The  living  poem 
was  complete,  when,  as  the  shades  of  evening  fell,  just  beyond 
the  place  where  the  mountain  slope  descends  below  the  surface 
of  the  waters,  on  a  point  named  after  the  quiet  of  the  Sabbath 
day,  they  landed  and  spread  their  couches  for  a  few  hours' 
repose. 

The  enemy  they  were  moving  to  attack  would  have  made  a 
sorry  show  in  the  pageantry  of  war.  In  numbers  it  did  not 
exceed  thirty-seven  hundred  men.  But  they  had  been  trained 
to  war,  and  they  were  commanded  by  a  master  who  knew  how 
to  avail  himself  of  all  his  resources.  He  was  even  able  to 
transfuse  into  each  soldier  enough  of  his  own  untiring  activity 
to  more  than  double  his  ordinary  military  value.     On  yonder 


16 

height,  he  had  built  Fort  Carillon.  On  the  east,  south  and 
south-west,  it  was  defended  by  the  lake  and  river.  On  the 
north  was  a  swamp,  wet  and  impassable.  There  was  only  a 
space,  a  little  more  tlian  &  half  mile  broad,  which  Nature  had 
left  undefended ;  and  across  this  he  stretched,  behind  earth- 
works, his  main  line  of  defense. 

Nor  was  this  all.  You  need  not  read  history  to  learn  how 
the  active  Frenchman  protected  the  approaches  to  his  main 
line,  for  his  works,  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  century, 
are  nearly  as  perfect  as  they  were  the  night  before  the  battle. 
About  a  half  mile  in  front  of  the  narrowest  neck  of  the  penin 
sula,  is  a  lov/  ridge,  sloping  from  the  river  towards  the  lake. 
Along  this  ridge  he  threw  up  a  heavy  earthwork,  defended  in 
front  by  a  deep-dug  ditch.  Along  the  banks  of  the  river  and 
swamp,  connecting  this  work  with  his  main  line,  were  small  earth 
forts,  which  eifectually  defended  him  against  an  attack  in  flank. 
In  front  of  the  ridge,  for  the  di&tance  of  a  musket  range,  the 
trees  had  been  felled  with  their  tops  outward,  forming  an 
abbatis,  which  was  well  nigh  impassable.  Still  further  up,  at 
the  river  crossing,  was  a  strong  natural  position,  from  which 
the  river  rounded  northward  to  the  landing  like  a  bow,  of 
which  the  road  represents  the  string,  intersecting  the  river  a 
little  below  the  head  of  the  portage.  The  river  crossing  was 
lield  by  three  French  regiments,  with  their  pickets  thrown  for- 
ward to  the  landing  ;  and  a  body  of  three  hundred  men,  under 
Trapezec,  was  advanced  into  the  woods  on  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  George. 

Montcalm  determined,  early  in  the  campaign,  to  fight  the 
Engh'sh  at  Ticonderoga.  On  the  day  an  enemy  of  four  times 
his  strength  was  moving  to  attack  him,  he  wrote  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Canada  :  "  I  have  chosen  to  fight  them  on  the  heights 
of  Carillon ;  and  I  shall  beat  them  there,  if  they  give  me  time 
to  gain  the  position."*"     Montcalm  commanded  savages,  and 

<•>  IV.  Bancroft,  p.  208. 


17 

caused  massacres ;  but  he  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  a  true  man 
cannot  now  write  his  name  without  a  thrill  of  admiration. 

Before  midnight  of  the  fifth,  the  English  moved  from  Sab- 
bath Day  Point  to  a  cove,  about  a  mile  above  the  outlet,  pro- 
tected by  a  point,  which  that  morning  took  the  name  of  Lord 
Howe.  There  they  landed,  and  forming  in  four  columns,  be- 
gan their  march.  As  soon  as  they  had  left  Sabbath  Day  Point, 
Montcalm  ordered  all  his  forces,  which  had  been  tlirown  out 
in  advance,  back  into  their  intrenchments  in  front  of  Carillon. 
All  obeyed  except  the  detachment  of  Trapezec,  which,  falling 
back  from  its  position  on  the  western  shore  of  the  lake,  lost  its 
way,  and  for  some  hours  wandered  in  the  woods  in  search  of 
the  road  across  the  portage.  Meantime,  the  English  were 
moving  slowly  forward,  their  columns  jostling  against  each 
other,  upon  the  rough  ground,  in  the  morning  twilight.  Near 
the  outlet  of  Trout  Brook,  the  right  centre,  commanded  by 
Lord  Howe,  came  in  contact  with  Trapezec 's  party.  Although 
they  fought  bravely,  they  were  struck  and  crushed  in  a  mo- 
ment. It  was  an  accidental  skirmish,  but  one  of  those  acci- 
dents which  decide  tlie  fortunes  of  a  campaign,  for  it  .cost  the 
life  of  the  gallant  nobleman  in  command,  who  fell  at  the  head 
of  his  column. 

The  fall  of  Lord  Howe  was  the  ruir.  of  the  expedition. 
"With  his  death,  order  vanished — the  morale  of  the  army  was 
destroyed.  There  was  no  force  tlireatening  his  immediate 
front,  and  yet  Abercrombie  fell  back  to  the  landing,  and  thus 
gave  Montcalm  the  precious  hours  he  needed  to  complete  his 
preparations.  * 

I  pass  over  details.  On  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  the 
French  commander  was  ready.  Every  man  was  in  his  sta- 
tion behind  intrenchments,  which  the  practiced  eyes  of  Stark, 
and  even  some  of  the  English  officers,  saw  were  too  formidable 
to  be  carried  by  assault.  Like  Braddock,  Abercrombie  would 
2 


18 

not  be  advised  by  backwoodsmen.  He  moved  in  three  col- 
umns straight  on  the  centre  of  the  French  works.  Braver  men 
never  rushed  upon  their  fate ;  never  was  defence  more  success- 
ful. For  three  full  hours,  tlie  grenadiers  and  the  Highlanders 
hurled  themselves  against  the  wall  of  fire,  only  to  be  beaten 
back,  and  again  to  dash  forward.  Every  point  in  the  intrench- 
ments  was  assaulted.  Now  tliey  sought  to  turn  the  French 
left.  The  omnipresent  Montcalm  mot  them  with  his  best  men. 
They  crowded  around  his  right, — Montcalm  was  there  to  face 
them !  Did  an  officer  fall  in  the  centre, — Montcalm  was  in 
presence  until  his  place  was  suppHed  !  The  English  did  not 
make  an  impression  even  on  the  exterior  line.  The  work  was 
too  close  for  artillery,  but  swivels  and  small  arms  condensed 
their  discharges  into  a  continuous  roar,  pouring  a  shower  of 
leaden  hail  into  an  enemy  at  times  not  fifteen  paces  from  their 
muzzles.  But  human  energy  could  not  achieve  impossibihties. 
At  length,  beaten  back  at  every  point ;  entangled  in  the  brush- 
wood and  fallen  timber ;  melting,  like  a  snow  in  June,  before 
the  withering  fire  ;  the  English  became  so  bewildered  as  to  fire 
into  each  other.  Abercrombie  had  hidden  away  where  he 
could  not  be  found.  It  was  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when 
two  thousand  men,  the  flower  of  the  army,  lay  dead  or  wounded 
in  front  of  the  intrenchments,  that  the  order  was  given  for  re- 
treat, which,  in  a  few  moments,  became  flight  in  promiscuous 
disorder. 

Had  Howe  lived,  or  Stark  commanded,  the  English  might 
have  been  rallied  at  the  landing ;  their  artillery  have  been 
placed  on  Mount  Defiance,  which  they  still  lield,  and  the 
French  have  been  shelled  out  of  their  works.  But  Abercrom- 
bie was  thoroughly  beaten ;  and  he  gave  no  rest  to  his  feet 
until  he  had  placed  the  length  of  Lake  George  between  him- 
self and  an  enemy  not  strong  enough  to  pursue  him.  He  did 
not  feel  entirely  safe  until  he  had  sent  his  artillery  and  ammu- 
nition to  Albany, 


19 

During  the  remainder  of  the  season,  the  French  were  alert, 
the  English  inactive.  There  were  numerous  skirmishes  in 
which  the  French  w^ere  usually  victors.  Putnam  was  captured, 
and  only  saved  from  the  stake  by  the  interference  of  a  French 
officer.  November  brought  Amherst,  the  conqueror  of  Louis- 
burg  ;  and  when  he  assumed  the  command  the  long  season  of 
Enffhsh  disaster  came  to  an  end.  "  Abercrombie  went  home 
to  England ;  was  secured  from  censure,  maligned  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  afterwards  assisted  in  Parliament  to  tax  the  witnesses 
of  his  pusillanimity."*^* 

Successful  as  this  campaign  had  been,  it  was  the  last  sub- 
stantial effort  of  the  French  to  maintain  their  supremacy  here. 
The  vigilance  of  the  English  cruisers  made  reinforcements  from 
France  impossible,  and  the  ceaseless  activity  of  Montcalm  had 
exhausted  Canada  of  supplies  and  men.  He  wrote  to  his  home 
government,  that,  without  external  assistance,  Canada  must 
fall ;  and  his  words  were  prophetic.  The  winter  of  1758-9 
brought  its  annual  crop  of  scouts  and  skirmishes,  which  settled 
nothing.  On  the  fifth  of  March,  Rogers  with  three  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  came  down  to  Sabbath  Day  Point,  where,  leav- 
ing a  part  of  his  force,  he  crossed  South  Bay  to  the  eastern 
shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  opposite  Ticonderoga  attacked 
and  dispersed  a  working  party  of  the  enemy.  He  was  pur- 
sued by  two  hundred  and  thirty  French  and  Indians,  a  mile 
and  a  half,  to  a  favorable  position,  where  he  gave  battle,  and 
defeated  them.  He  then,  with  trifling  loss,  made  his  way  back 
to  Fort  Edward.'*'  The  place  of  this  fight  cannot  be  definitely 
fixed  from  the  account  given  by  Rogers. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  Amherst,  having  collected  an  army  of 
eleven  thousand  men,  passed  down  Lake  George  and  landed 
on  the  eastern  shore,  near  the  outlet.  Halting  his  main  body, 
he  sent  forward  a  party  of  Rangers  under  Rogers,  who  attacked 

m  IV.  Bancroft,  309.  («)  Rogers'  Journal  129  to  134. 


20 

the  French  at  the  mills,  drove  them  out,  and  held  th(3  position. 
The  army  then  proceeded  to  invest  Ticouderoga.  The  heroic 
Montcalm,  who  never  recoiled  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy, 
was  no  longer  here.  He  was  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham, 
gathering  up  the  last  remnants  of  Canadian  strength,  to  meet, 
not  his  master,  but  his  peer,  in  a  struggle  in  which  both  were 
doomed  to  fall.  The  siege  here,  began.  For  two  days  the 
French  kept  up  a  constant  fire  of  cannon  upon  the  English. 
But  during  the  day  of  the  24th,  the  Rangers  dragged  three 
boats  across  the  portage  into  Lake  Champlain,  intending  to  cut 
away  the  boom  to  the  eastern  shore,  in  order  that  the  English 
boats  might  pass  the  fort,  and  cut  off  the  French  retreat. 
Before  this  could  be  accomplished,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  the  26th,  the  French  sprung  their  mines,  blew  up 
the  fort,  rushed  to  their  boats,  and  hastily  retreated  toward 
Crown  Point.  Rogers,  with  his  Rangers,  dashed  upon  them 
from  the  Vermont  shore,  and  captured  ten  boats  with  fifty  bar- 
rels of  powder  and  a  large  quantity  of  baggage  and  supphos. 

Amherst  was  slow  and  cautious.  Instead  of  following  up 
the  French,  he  halted  his  army,  and  began  to  repair  the  fort. 
The  Rangers  were  constantly  scouting  in  the  direction  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  first  of  August,  one  of  their  parties  returned 
with  news  that  the  French  had  abandoned  Crown  Point,  with- 
out waiting  to  destroy  it,  and  retreated  down  the  lake.  The 
lilies  of  France  had  floated  over  these  waters  for  the  last  time. 
The  French  retired  to  Isle  Aux  Noix,  which  they  held  with 
a  force  of  thirty-five  hundred  men.  Amherst  remained  here 
until  October,  engaged  in  fitting  out  a  naval  force,  with  which 
he  intendfid  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the  lake.  AVhen  he 
finally  moved,  the  weather  was  stormy,  and  winter  was  at  hand. 
He  succeeded  in  destroying  the  enemy's  vessels  at  the  north 
end  of  the  lake,  and  then  returned  here  into  winter  quarters. 
Meantime,  Rogers,  with  his  Rangers  had  been  sent  upon  an 


91 

expedition,  which  for  its  perseverance  through  hardship  and 
privation,  deserves  a  more  full  description  than  it  can  have  in 
this  connection.  The  Indians  at  the  Trois  Rivieres  had  long 
ravaged  the  northern  frontiers  with  impunity,  and  Rogers  un- 
dertook to  chastise  them  for  their  savage  barbarities.  Leaving 
Crown  Point  on  the  12th  of  September,  he  went  to  Missisquoi 
Bay,  where,  concealing  his  boats  and  provisions,  he  pushed  for- 
ward his  expedition.  On  tae  following  day,  he  was  overtaken 
by  the  guards  left  to  watch  the  boats,  with  information  that  a 
party  of  four  hundred  French  and  Indians  had  captured  his 
boats,  and  were  following  him  in  hot  pursuit.  Without  halting, 
he  detached  a  party  and  sent  it  back  to  Amherst,  with  direc- 
tions to  send  provisions  across  the  mountains  to  the  mouth  of 
"White  River,  by  which  route  he  promptly  determined  to  return. 
Outmarching  his  pursuers,  he  reached  the  Indian  village  on  the 
4th  of  October,  and  found  the  Indians  engaged  in  a  scalp 
dance.  The  sight  of  some  hundreds  of  American  scalps,  dis- 
played on  poles,  did  not  greatly  dispose  the  hearts  of  the 
Rangers  to  mercy.  Adopting  the  Indian  practice,  they  at- 
tacked the  village  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  and  out  of  three 
hundred  savages,  slew  two  hundred  and  captured  twenty. 
Returning  by  the  Coos  route,  after  great  suflfering  and  almost 
in  a  starving  condition,  Rogers  and  his  party  finally  reached 
Crown  Point  with  a  loss  of  three  officers  and  forty-six  men.^** 

There  was  little  fighting  in  this  quarter  during  the  next  cam- 
paign— that  of  1760.  An  expedition,  under  Haviland,  moved 
down  Lake  Champlain,  driving  the  French  before  it,  with 
trifling  resistance  at  Isle  Aux  Noix  and  St.  Johns,  until  it  met 
an  army  under  Amherst,  which  came  through  Lake  Ontario, 
down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  halted  in  front  of  Montreal.  An 
army  from  Quebec  had  also  reached  the  same  point.  The  con- 
quest of  Canada  was  now  completed.     Montreal  surrendered, 

<»J  Marault,  Histoire  des  Abenakis,  p.  489. 


22 

and  thenceforward,  until  the  peace  of  1763,  these  Bolitudes 
were  no  longer  vexed  by  savage  or  civilized  warfare. 


Ticonderoga  next  demands  our  attention  in  its  relation  to 
our  own  Revolution.  It  was  the  first  fortified  position  won 
from  British  arms — its  capture  made  revolution  a  necessity  and 
independence  sure.  Vermonters  maintain  now,  as  they  always 
have  maintained,  that  this  fort  was  captured  by  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  commanded  by  their  trusted  leader,  Ethan 
Allen.  Within  a  few  years,  this  claim  has  been  questioned. 
Tlie  glory  of  this  achievement  has  been  sought  to  be  awarded 
to  an  abandoned  traitor.  Without  questioning  the  motives  or 
the  research  of  the  advocates  of  Benedict  Arnold,  let  us  try 
here,  to-day,  upon  the  very  ground  itself,  to  put  to  rest  finally 
and  forever,  the  question — 

WHO   TOOK    TICONDEROGA? 

This  question  ought  to  be  settled  by  evidence  cotemporary 
with  the  act.  Such  evidence  is  subject  to  the  legal  rule,  which 
makes  admissible  the  acts  and  declarations  of  the  parties  imme- 
diately concerned,  which,  though  subsequent  to  the  capture, 
are  so  directly  connected  with  it  as  to  constitute  a  part  of  the 
res  gestce.  When  this  evidence  is  all  brought  together  and 
properly  weighed,  it  is  not  impossible  that  doubts,  which  have 
been  suggested  by  an  imperfect  examination  of  the  subject, 
will  disappear. 

Let  us  first  briefly  notice  one  or  two  conditions  applicable  to 
this  evidence.  -^ 


23 

The  earnest  controversy  which  had  long  existed  between  the 
settlers  of  tiio  New  Ilampshiro  Grants  and  the  leading  officials 
of  New  York,  not  always  free  from  scenes  of  violence  and 
blood,  some  years  before  the  battle  of  Lexington,  had  called 
into  existence,  upon  the  Grants,  an  eifective  military  organiza- 
tion known  by  the  name  of  tlie  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Many 
of  these  settlers  were  old  soldiers,  who  became  acquained  with 
the  attractions  of  the  country  when  they  were  Provincials  or 
Rangers,  under  Putnam,  Stark  and  Rogers.  Their  colonel  and 
leader  was  Ethan  Allen.  They  were  fonned  into  a  regiment 
as  early  as  1771.  We  can  now  trace  the  existence  of  five 
companies,  each  formed  in  its  own  locality,  and  there  were 
doubtless  others.  Seth  Warner  was  captain  of  the  Bennington 
company,  which  was  organized  inl764.*""  Remember  Baker 
was  captain  of  the  company  raised  in  Arlington ;  Robert  Coch- 
ran of  the  Rupert  company,  and  Gideon  Warren  of  that  raised 
in  Sunderland  and  vicinity.*'"  Another,  raised  near  the  New 
York  line,  was  commanded  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Marvin,  of  Still- 
water.*"* These  and  other  companies  were  well  equipped, 
officered  and  drilled.  They  knew  the  value  of  discipline  and 
prompt  obedience.  They  were  raised,  not  for  holiday  display, 
but  to  defend  their  homes  and  property.  The  promptness  with 
which  they  obeyed  the  call  of  their  leaders  is  illustrated  in  the 
pursuit  and  rescue  of  Baker  from  his  captors,  in  March,  1772. 

Having  no  legally  organized  government,  these  settlers  gave 
the  direction  of  their  civil  affairs  into  the  hands  of  small  body 
of  their  wisest  men,  which  was  first  known  as  the  "  Grand 
Committee,"  and  later,  as  "  The  Council  of  Safety."  This 
body  exercised  all  the  executive  powers  of  a  State  government, 
for  many  years.  Its  sessions  were  frequent ;  and,  before  the 
Revolution,  were  usually  held  at  Bennington.     It  is  safe  to  say. 


'")  Heramenway's  Gazetteer,  Vol.  I.,  p.  143. 

<")  Ira  Allen's  Hist.  Vt.,  p.  26. ;  Hall's  Early  Hist.  Vt.,  pp.  128-137. 

<'")  Hemraenway's  Gaz.,  Vol.  II.,  Tit.  Franklin. 


24 

that  in  the  year  1775,  the  Grants  had  as  effif'ient  a  civil  gov- 
ernment as  any  of  the  colonies ;  and,  assuredly,  no  colony  had 
a  more  thorough  military  organization.  In  the  hglit  of  these 
well  authenticated  facts^  the  evidence  bearing  upon  the  question 
before  us  must  be  considered.  It  is  obvious  that  they  will  ex- 
ercise considerable  influence  upon  its  solution. 

With  few  exceptions,  these  settlers  were  New  England  men 
— attached  to  her  institutions,  intrenched  in  her  habits — warm 
disciples  of  the  doctrine  of  self-government.     The  same  fuel 

which  fed  the  fires  of  liberty  in  Fanueil  Hall  was  abundant  on 

* 

the  Grants.     We  shall  see  hereafter  that  the  call  for  resistance 

to  oppression  nowhere  met  with  a  more  hearty,  unanimous 
response  than  from  the  pioneers  among  the  Green  Mountains. 
*  It  was  to  such  a  people,  thus  organized,  that  John  Brown, 
of  Pittsfield,  came,  late  in  February,  1776,  on  his  way  to  Can- 
ada. On  the  15th  of  that  month,  the  Congress  of  Massachu- 
setts, impressed  with  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  Canadians 
and  Indians  neutral,  if  they  could  not  be  won  to  the  popular 
cause  in  the  struggle  which  they  knew  was  near ;  by  resolution, 
directed  their  committee  to  open  a  correspondence  to  that  end. 
The  committee  sent  Mr.  Brown  upon  the  mission,  and  fur- 
nished him  with  letters  and  documents  to  promote  his  success. 
Pittsfield  was  not  a  half  day's  ride  from  Bennington,  where 
Allen  lived  and  the  Grand  Committee  held  its  sessions.  It 
was  the  principal  town  upon  the  great  route  of  emigration  to 
the  Grants.  Its  patriotic  minister  bore  Allen's  name,  and  was 
his  friend.  Communication  between  these  two  towns  was  fre- 
quent, and  the  condition  of  affairs  upon  the  Grants  must  have 
been  well  known  to  Brown  and  his  neighbors.  He  acted 
promptly  upon  that  knowledge.  He  delayed  long  enough  to 
visit  Albany,  and  put  himself  in  communication  with  Dr. 
Young,  and  then  took  the  shortest  route,  across  the  Grants,  to 
Canada.     It  was  a  part  of  his  business  to  "  eetablish  a  rehable 


25 

means  of  communication  through  the  Grants^''  That  he  wab 
in  close  relations  with  the  leaders,  we  know,  for  one  of  them 
became  his  guide  to  Canada.  This  was  Peleg  Sunderland,'"' 
one  of  the  eight  whom  the  officials  of  New  York  had  outlawed 
and  condemned  to  death,  without  the  trouble  of  arrest,  or  the  ex- 
pense of  a  trial.  He  was  sent  to  inform  himself  of  the  feeling 
of  the  people,  and  he  must  have  met  Colonel  Allen,  consulted 
with  the  Grand  Committee,  and  have  known  of  the  organiza- 
tion, for  he  declares  that  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  had  un- 
dertaken to  capture  Ticonderoga.  Satisfied  with  the  condition 
of  affairs  on  the  Grants,  he  forced  his  way  through  many  diffi- 
culties to  Canada,  made  use  of  his  two  companions,  one  of 
whom  had  been  a  captive  among  them,  to  win  over  the  Indians, 
and  having  executed  his  mission,  on  the  29th  of  March,  writes 
an  account  of  it,  from  Montreal,  to  Dr.  Warren  and  Samuel 
Adams,  the  Massachusetts  Committee,  and,  as  if  he  were  mak- 
ing a  new  and  important  suggestion,  brought  to  his  notice 
while  on  the  Grants,  says — 

"  One  thing  I  must  mention,  to  be  kept  a  profound  secret.  Tlie  fort  at 
Ticonderoga  must  be  seized  as  soon  as  possible,  sliould  liostilities  be  com- 
mitted by  the  King's  troops.  The  people  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants 
have  engaged  to  do  this  bxmnesa  ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  they  are  the  most  proper 
persons  for  this  job.  This  will  effectually  curb  this  province,  and  all  the 
troops  that  may  be  sent  here."<'*> 

A  moment's  reflection  makes  the  fact  evident  that  the  pro- 
posal to  capture  Ticonderoga  probably  came  to  Brown  from, 
and  was  not  by  him  suggested  to,  the  people  of  the  Grants. 
He  communicated  it  to  the  Massachusetts  Congress  as  a  proper 
thing  to  be  done,  because  he  supposed  it  had  not  occurred  to 
them.  He  wrote  the  letter  after  he  had  had  an  interview  with 
the  Yermonters,  in  which  they  "  engaged  to  do  this  business." 
Had  Brown  thought  of  it  before  he  visited  the  Grants,  he  would  ;  .  .A 
probably  have  spoken  of  it  to  his  associates,  and  there  would 


1»1  App.  No.  8.  (M)  App.  No.  4. 


26 

have  been  no  necessity  for  this  communication.  Which  is  the 
more  probable,  that  the  Vermonters,  who  lived  in  the  vicinity, 
on  an  exposed  frontier,  which  would  be  protected  by  the  cap- 
ture— who  knew  that  Ticonderoga  was  the  very  "  Gate  of  the 
Country  "  (and  the  only  one),  through  which  a  hostile  expedi- 
tion from  Canada  could  enter  it — many  of  whom  had  been 
fighting  through  half  a  dozen  campaigns  to  take  it,  should  have 
been  impressed  with  the  necessity  to  theuiselves,  as  well  as  the 
colonies,  of  surprising  these  forts  before  they  were  reinforced, 
and  should  have  seized  the  first  opportunity  through  Brown  of 
making  its  value  known  to  the  other  colonies  ;  or  that  Brown, 
a  resident  of  Western  Massachusetts,  and  a  comparative  stran- 
ger to  the  facts,  should  have  made  the  suggestion  to  the  Ver- 
monters ?  There  is  nothing  in  Mr.  Brown's  letter  indicating 
that  the  idea  of  the  capture  originated  with  him  ;  and  positive 
proof  will  be  cited  that  it  was  first  proposed  by  the  Yerraonters. 

Nor  is  there  the  slightest  evidence  that  the  proposition  of 
Mr.  Brown  received  any  attention  in  Massachusetts.  That 
colony  was  fully  occupied  with  its  own  concerns,  for  it  was  the 
central  point  of  revolution.  It  had  no  time  to  devote  to  mat- 
ters which  directly  concerned  only  this  remote  northern  frontier. 
Although  the  letter  of  Mr.  Brown  shows  that  the  capture  of 
this  fort  was  discussed  among  the  Vermonters  earlier  than  else- 
where, I  do  not  regard  the  fact  as  of  any  considerable  import- 
ance. In  view  of  the  impending  contest,  it  may  have  occurred 
to  thousands ;  it  must  have  occurred  to  those  wlio  were  acquaint- 
ed with  the  value  of  the  position  in  past  wars.  But  they  who 
organized  the  expedition,  were  ready  to  act  at  the  proper  time, 
and  who  finally  made  the  capture,  are  entitled  to  the  credit, 
although  a  multitude  of  others  had  spoken  of  the  enterprise  as 
desirable.   ,■■..:■■■■      ■' ;  ■  ^  ■  ■'.  ■■^■^■X'.^ ''•:'^  ^ 

The  next  witness,  in  chronological  order,  is  Ethan  Allen. 
His  full  account  of  the  condition  of  afiairs  upon  the  Grants, 


« 


27 

and  the  events  which  preceded  the  capture,  has  not  been  cited 
by  any  of  the  numerous  writers  upon  this  subject.  A  sur- 
prising omission,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  his  account  was  pub- 
hshed  when  there  was  a  half  regiment  of  hving  witnesses, 
shortly  after  the  event,  and  before  any  controversy  in  relation 
to  it  had  arisen.  It  is  found  in  Allen's  "  Vindication,"  as  it  is 
called,  published  in  1779,  only  four  jears  after  the  capture. 

This  account  not  only  throws  light  upon  the  question  we  are 
discussingj  but  it  also  proves  the  spontaneous  loyalty  of  the 
Vermonters  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  It  points  out  their  vital 
interest  in  the  coming  revolution,  for  their  controversy  with  the 
New  Yorkers  had  just  been  submitted  to  th3  king  and  Privy 
Council,  with  every  prospect  of  an  early  decision  in  their  favor. 
It  refers  to  their  frontier,  extended  to  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
exposed  to  an  enemy  in  possession  of  this  fort  and  Crown 
Point,  with  a  vessel  of  war  upon  the  lake.  "  The  battle  of 
Lexington,"  says  Allen,  "  almost  distracted  them,  for  interest 
inclined  them  to  the  royal  side  of  the  dispute,  but  the  stronger 
impulses  of  affection  to  their  country,  impelled  them  to  resent 
its  wrongs ; "  and  "  tlie  ties  of  consanguinity,  similarity  of 
religion  and  manners  to  New  England,  whence  they  had  emi- 
grated, weighed  heavy  in  their  deliberations."  Moreover,  they 
"  believed  the  cause  of  the  country  to  be  just,"  and  that  '•  re- 
sistance to  Great  Britain  had  become  the  indispensable  duty  of 
a  free  people ;"  in  short,  he  declares  that  their  interest  and  their 
patriotism  were  directly  opposed.  He  states  that,  "  soon  after 
the  news  of  Lexington  battle,  the  principal  officerij  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  and  other  principal  inhabitants,  were  convened 
at  Bennington,  and  attempted  to  explore  futurity,  which  was 
found  to  be  unfathomable,  and  the  scenes  which  have  since 
taken  place,  then  appeared  to  be  precarious  and  uncertain ;" 
but  after  consideration,  it  was  "  resolved  to  take  an  active  part 
with  the  country,  and  thereby  annihilate  the  old  quarrel  with 


28 

New  York,  by  swallowing  it  up  in  the  general  conflict  for  lib- 
erty." I  invite  your  special  attention  to  what  he  says  of 
Ticonderoga : 

"  But  the  enemy  having  the  command  of  Lake  Champlain  and  the  gar- 
risons contiguous  to  it,  was  ground  of  great  uneasiness  to  those  inhabit- 
ants who  had  extended  their  settlements  on  the  river  Otter  Creelc  and 
Onion  River,  and  along  the  east  side  of  the  lake  aforesaid,  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  war,  would  be  uader  the  power  of  the  enemy.  It  was,  there- 
fore, projected  to  surprise  the  garrisons  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
with  the  armed  vessel  on  the  lake,  and  gain  the  command  of  that  import- 
ant pass ;  inasmuch  as  such  an  event  would  in  a  great  measure  secure 
those  inhabitants  from  the  enemy,  obliging  them  to  take  post  in  Canada ; 
but  whether  such  a  measure  would  be  agreeable  to  Congress  o.  not,  they 
could  not  for  certain  determine.  But  it  was  apprehended  that  if  these 
posts  were  not  soon  taken  they  would  be  strongly  reinforced,  and  become 
impregnable  to  any  attack,  short  of  a  regular  seige,  for  which,  at  that 
time,  the  country  was  very  deficient  in  the  articles  of  artillery,  &c." 

"  While  these  matters  were  deliberating^  a  committee  from  the  Council  of 
Connecticut  arrived  at  Bennington,  with  advice  and  directions  to  carry  into 
execution  the  surprise  of  those  garrisons,  and,  if  possible,  to  gain  the 
command  of  the  lake.    Which  was  done  without  loss  of  time."  <'"> 

We  have  here  Allen's  positive  declaration  that  the  Vermont- 
ers,  who  had  the  deepest  interest  in  it,  projected  the  capture  of 
this  fort,  before  the  arrival  of  the  gentlemen  from  Connecticut, 
and  were  only  restrained  from  acting  through  fear  of  the  dis- 
approval of  Congress.  With  this  declaration  before  me,  I 
think  we  carry  the  admission  a  little  too  far,  when  we  say  that 
"  the  honor  of  devising  and  putting  the  expedition  in  motion 
belongs  to  the  gentlemen  from  Connecticut."  A  more  strictly 
accurate  statement  of  the  fact,  I  think,  would  be  that  they  set 
it  in  motion ;  but  that  the  honor  of  devising  the  expedition,  as 
well  as  its  successful  execution,  belongs  to  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys. 

Let  us  now  inquire  what  was  done  in  Connecticut  by  way  of 
putting  the  expedition  for  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  in 
motion ;  and  incidentally  meet  the  claim,  once  put  forward  by 

W  See  App.  No.  6. 


99 

Mr.  Bancroft,  but  afterwards  withdrawn,  that  the  first  impulse 
was  given  to  it  by  Samuel  Adams,  when  on  his  way  to  the 
meeting  of  Congress.     The  assertion  has  been  made  that  in  so 
doing,  Mr.  Adams  was  acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  John 
Brown.    But  the  claim  is  made  by  a  writer  of  no  authority, 
and  who  gives  no  authority  for  his  statement.     Colonel  Samuel 
H.  Parsons,  of  Connecticut,  in  a  letter  to  Joseph  Trumbull,  of 
June  2, 1775,  says '"'  that  on  the  26th  of  April,  on  his  way 
from  Massachusetts  to  Hartford,  he  met  Benedict  Arnold,  who 
gave  him  an  account  of  the  condition  of  Ticonderoga,  and  the 
number  of  cannon  there.     Arnold  was  on  his  way  to  Cam- 
bridge, with  a  company  of  volunteers.     It  does  not  appear  that 
anything  was  said  in  that  interview  about  the  capture  of  this 
fort.     But  Colonel  Parsons  says,  that  he  reached  Hartford  on 
the  forenoon  of  April  27th  (Thursday) ;  that  on  his  arrival, 
Colonel  Sam.  Wyllys,  Mr.  Deane  and  himself  "  first  undertook 
and  projected  the  taking  of"  Ticonderoga;    and  with  the 
assistance  of  three  other  persons,  procured  money,  men,  &c., 
and  sent  them  out  on  this  expedition,  without  any  consultation 
with  the  Assembly  or  others.     The  three  other  persons  were 
Thomas  Mumford,  Christopher  Leffingwell  and  Adam.  Babcock. 
The  receipts  signed  by  these  gentlemen  show  that  the  next  day 
(Friday,  the  28th)  they  procured  from  the  treasury  three  hund- 
red pounds,  which  they  promised  to  account  for,  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  colony.^"*     On  the  same  28th  of  April,  they  gave 
the  money  to  Noah  Phelps  and  Bernard  Romans,  who  imme- 
diately started  in  the  direction  of  the  Grants.     That  Samuel 
Adams  and  Hancock  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  project,  is 
shown  by  Mr.  Hancock's  letter,  dated  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  on 
the  26th,  in  which  he  states  his  purpose  to  leave  the  next  day  ;'"> 
and  the  statement  of  Mr.  Wells,  the  biographer  of  Samuel 
Adams,  that  Adams  and  Hancock  left  Worcester  in  company, 

<")  App.  No.  8.  (")  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Colls.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  184, 186. 

<>»)  Force's  Archives  4th  S.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  401. 


80 

on  the  27th,  and  were  at  Hartford,  on  the  29th.  With  the 
slow  conveyances  of  those  days,  it  is  impossible  that  they 
should  liave  reached  Hartford  before  Phelps  and  Romans  had 
left,  with  the  money,  on  Friday."" 

From  this  time,  we  have  the  written  account  of  the  real  direc- 
tor of  the  expedition,  so  far  as  Connecticut  is  concerned,  whose 
particular  and  minute  relation  is  confirmed  by  all  the  other  tes- 
timony. It  is  the  journal  of  Captain  Edward  Mott,  who  sub- 
sequently acted  as  the  chairman  of  the  committee  having  the 
enterprise  in  charge. 

The  journal  of  Captain  Mott  records  his  arrival  at  Hartford, 
and  his  interview  with  Messrs.  Parsons,  Deane  and  Leflfingwell, 
on  Friday,  April  28th ;  their  inquiry  if  he  would  undertake 
an  expedition  against  Ticonderoga,  and  his  affirmative  reply. 
They  regretted  that  he  had  not  arrived  one  day  sooner,  for  they 
had  laid  the  plan,  and  sent  off  Phelps  and  Romans,  with  threa 
hundred  pounds  in  money,  and  authority  to  draw  for  more  if 
needed ;  that  they  had  gone  by  the  way  of  Salisbury,  where 
Mott  could  join  them,  and  he  received  an  order  to  have  his 
voice  in  laying  out  the  money.  Mott  readily  accepted  their 
offer,  and  with  five  companions  started,  on  Saturday,  tlie  29tli 
of  April.  They  reached  Salisbury  on  the  30th ;  increased  their 
company  to  sixteen,  and  on  Monday,  May  1st,  went  to  Shef- 
field, whence  they  sent  two  of  their  number  to  Albany,  "  to 
ascertain  the  temper  of  the  people."  Monday  night,  they 
passed  with  Colonel  Easton,  in  Pittsfield.  There  they  "  fell  in 
company  with  John  Brown,  Esq.,  who  had  been  at  Canada  and 
Ticonderoga  about  a  month  before."  They  "concluded  to 
make  known  our  (their)  business  to  Colonel  Easton  and  said 
Brown,  and  take  their  advice  on  the  same."  It  is  evident  that 
their  coming  was  unexpected  to  Brown  and  Easton,  to  whom 
their  purpose  was  then  first  made  known. 

(1  See  App.  No.  7. 


31  ,;.,..■, 

To  avoid  discovery,  they  had  been  advised  not  to  raise  their 
men  until  they  reached  the  Grunts  ;  but  Brown  and  Easton,  in 
view  of  the  scarcity  of  provisions  and  poverty  of  the  people 
there,  thought  they  had  better  raise  a  number  of  men  sooner, 
and  Easton  offered  to  enhst  some  from  his  own  regiment.  To 
this  they  agreed ;  Easton  and  Brown  joined  them ;  the  former 
went  to  Jericho  and  Williamstown,  where  he  raised  in  all  thirty- 
nine  men,  and  got  them  ready  to  march.  Easton  and  Mott 
then  set  out  for  Bennington,  where  they  arrived  the  next  day, 
probably  as  late  as  the  4th,  perhaps  the  5th  of  May.  On  their 
■way,  they  met  an  express,  who  reported  that  the  fort  here  was 
repaired ;  that  the  garrison  had  been  reinforced,  and  was  on  being 
its  guard ;  but,  disregarding  the  account,  they  pressed  forward. 

At  Bennington,  they  overtook  the  rest  of  their  people,  ex- 
cept Phelps  and  Mr.  Hancock,  who  had  gone  forward  to  recon- 
noitre the  fort,  and  the  two  not  yet  returned  from  Albany. 
There  Romans  left  them,  and  "joined  no  more."  "  We  were 
all  glad,"  says  Mott,  "  as  he  had  been  a  trouble  to  us  all 
the  time  he  was  with  us."  This  Romans,  is  the  "eminent 
engineer,"  recently  brought  forward  by  the  admirers  of  Arnold, 
as  one  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the  expedition.  He  was  a  fit 
companion  of  Arnold,  who  finally  quarreled  himself  out  of  the 
service  before  the  close  of  the  year.  *'"''' 

The  journal  of  Captain  Mott  shows  that  the  news  from  the 
fort  was  discussed  at  Bennington,  but  was  considered  unreliable. 
Mr.  Halsey  and  Mr.  Bull  declared  that  "  they  would  go  back 
for  no  story,  until  they  had  seen  the  fort  themselves."  Find- 
ing provisions  scarce,  they  sent  Captain  Stephens  and  Mr. 
Hewitt  to  Albany,  to  purchase  and  forward  them  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Guarding  the  roads  to  the  west  and  northward,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  raise  men  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  on  "  Sunday,  the 

(a»  Force's  Archives,  4th  S.,  Vol.  8,  p.  1864-7. 


32 

7th  of  May,  they  all  arrived  at  Castleton,  the  place  we  (they) 
had  appointed  for  the  men  all  to  meet;"  and  on  Monday,  May 
8th,  "  the  committee  all  got  together,  to  conclude  in  what  man- 
ner we  would  proceed  to  accomplish  our  design,  of  which  com- 
mittee I  (Mott)  was  cliairman."  After  debating  the  various 
proposals,  and  what  to  do  in  the  event  of  a  repulse,  they  "  re- 
solved and  voted  "  to  despatch  thirty  men,  under  Captain  Her- 
rick,  to  Skenesborough,  to  seize  Major  Skene,  his  party  and 
boats ;  and  take  the  latter,  on  the  following  night,  down  the 
lake  to  Shoreham,to  be  in  readiness  to  carry  the  detachment,  on 
its  arrival,  across  to  Ticonderoga,  where  the  rest  of  the  men, 
one  hundred  and  forty  in  number,  were  also  to  march  the  next 
day.  Captain  Douglas  was  to  go  to  Crown  Point,  where  his 
brother-in-law  was,  and  endeavor,  by  some  stratagem,  to  get 
possession  of  the  king's  boats,  to  assist  in  carrying  over  the 
men."  "  It  was  further  agreed  that  Colonel  Ethan  Allen 
should  have  the  command  of  the  party  that  should  go  against 
Ticonderoga,  agreeable  to  my  promise,  made  to  the  men  when 
I  engaged  them  to  go,  that  they  should  be  commanded  by  their 
own  officers.''^  "  The  whole  plan,"  he  continues,  "  was  settled 
by  a  vote  of  the  committee.  In  the  evening,  after  the  party 
to  Skenesborough  was  drafted  out,  "Colonel  Allen  went  to 
Mr.  Wessel's,  in  Shoreham,  to  meet  some  men  who  were  to 
come  in  there,  having  received  his  orders  at  what  time  he  must 
be  ready  to  take  possession  of  the  garrison  of  Ticonderoga."^"^ 

Leaving  now  the  journal  of  Captain  Mott,  for  the  time,  with 
the  little  patriot  army  taking  a  night's  rest  at  Castleton,  it  may 
interest  you  to  devote  a  few  minutes  to  Allen's  connection,  up 
to  this  point,  with  the  enterprise,  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  hiu  men  were  brought  together. 

The  controversy  with  the  land  speculators  of  New  York, 
then  more  than  twelve  years  old,  had  brought  Allen  into  pub- 

App.  No.  8. 


33 

lie  notice  throughout  the  colonies.  During  the  past  year,  ho 
had  been  especially  conspicuous.  The  land  jobbers,  who  then 
controlled  New  York  legislation,  had  proclaimed  him  an  out- 
law, and  set  a  price  upon  his  head.  He  had  answered  them 
with  characteristic  defiance.  In  the  other  colonies  he  was 
looked  upon  as  a  man  of  great  energy,  firmness  and  intrepidity, 
possessing  all  the  qualities  of  an  effective  military  leader.  By 
the  Vermonters,  with  whom  he  had  rendered  himself  popular 
by  many  acts  of  unselfish  generosity,  he  was  regarded  as  a  per- 
fectly fearless  enemy  of  every  species  of  injustice  and  oppres- 
sion. Few  men  in  America  then  occupied  a  larger  share  of 
the  public  attention  ;  there  were  none  whose  courage  was  less 
questionable. 

The  military  organization  of  the  Vermonters,  with  Allen  as 
their  colonel,  and  the  evidence  that  they  had  projected  the  cap- 
ture of  this  fort  previous  to  the  arrangement  with  Brown,  in 
March,  has  already  been  mentioned.  It  may  not  be  proved  by 
direct  evidence  that  all  this  was  well  known  to  Colonel  Parsons 
and  his  associates  in  Connecticut;  but  I  think  a  traverse 
jury  would  find  that  it  was  from  the  circumstances.  Why,  it 
may  be  asked ;  did  not  Parsons  and  his  co-workers  raise  their 
force  in  Connecticut,  or  on  their  way,  in  Massachusetts  ?  Why 
were  Phelps  and  Bomans  sent  straight  to  the  Grants,  with 
orders  not  to  raise  men  until  they  reached  there,  if  these  facts 
were  not  well  known  to  their  principals  ?  They  went  by  way 
of  Salisbury,  the  old  home  of  Ethan  Allen,  where  his  two 
brothers,  Levi  and  Heman,  then  lived.  Their  first  act  was  to 
send  Heman,  as  an  express  to  Bennington,  to  inform  Ethan  of 
their  coming;  and  Levi  was  the  first  man  who  joined  the 
expedition.  Mott  and  his  party  made  a  stop  at  Pittsfield. 
Here  the  Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  the  intimate  friend  of  Ethan  and 
John  Brown,  was  the  settled  minister,'**'  and  here  Brown,  who 

<»'  See  App.  No.  9. 


84 

had  returned  from  tlie  Grants  only  a  month  before,  where  he 
had  discussed  the  subject  of  the  capture,  joined  them.  Wlien 
the  Connecticut  party  reached  Bennington,  they  found  the 
officers  of  Allen's  regiment  actually  in  consultation  upon  the 
subject,  with  the  Grand  Committee,  and  only  restrained  irom 
acting  through  fear  of  the  disapproval  of  Congress.  That  the 
leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  should  lead  this  expedition 
was  the  spontaneous  thought  of  every  one.  Up  to  the  night 
of  May  8th,  at  Castleton,  no  other  leader  was  thought  of  by 
anybody.  An  account  published  in  the  Hartford  Gourant  of 
May  22d,  not  two  weeks  after  the  capture,  speaks  of  the 
engagement  of  Brown  and  Easton  by  Mott,  at  Pittsfield,  and 
says :  "  They  likewise  immediately  despatched  an  express  to  the 
intrepid  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  desiring  him  to  be  ready  to  join 
them  with  a  party  of  his  valiant  Green  Mountain  Boys."  A 
letter  from  Pittsfield,  of  May  4th,  the  day  that  Mott,  Easton 
and  Brown  left  there,  refers  to  their  departure,  "expecting  to 
be  reinforced  by  a  thousand  men  from  the  Grants  above  here, 
a  post  hsivin^  previously  taken  his  departure  to  inform  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen  of  the  design,  desiring  him  to  hold  his  Green 
Mountain  Boys  in  actual  readiness."*"'  Captain  Elisha  Phelps, 
in  a  letter  of  May  16th,  writes :  "  When  we  left  Hartford,  our 
orders  were  to  repair  to  the  Grants,  and  raise  an  army  of 
men.  »  ♦  ♦  We  pursued  to  Bennington,  where  we  met 
Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  who  was  much  pleased  with  the  expedi- 
tion."*"' Finally,  Allen  himself  declares  that,  "the  first  sys- 
tematical and  bloody  attempt  at  Lexington  to  enslave  America, 
thoroughly  electrified  my  mind,  and  fully  determined  me  to 
take  part  with  my  country ;  and  while  I  was  wishing  for  an 
opportunity  to  signalize  myself  in  its  behalf,  directions  were 
privately  sent  to  m.e  from  the  then  Colony  (now  State)  of  Con- 
necticut, to  raise  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  with  them  (if 

W  Force,  Vol.  ii.  p.  507.  m  Conn.  Hist.  Coll.  2,  Vol.  i.,  p.  176. 


■*-, . 


85 

possible)  to  surprise  and  take  the  fortress,  Ticonderoga.     This 
enterprise  I  cheerfully  undertook."*'"* 

Such  evidence  fills  up  the  measure  of  proof  beyond  doubt, 
reasonable  or  otherwise,  that  the  Vermonters  were  ready  ;  that 
the  men  of  Connecticut  knew  they  were  prepared ;  that  Allen 
was  the  natural  leader  of  the  expedition.  Against  the  solid 
wall  of  fact  which  it  builds  up,  the  detractors  of  Allen,  the 
libellers  of  the  Vermonters,  the  latter-day  admirers  of  Bene- 
dict Arnold,  will  bring  the  little  canons  of  their  criticism  to 
bear  in  vain.  On  this  subject,  I  shall  produce  no  other  v<rit- 
nesses.  "  They  who  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither 
will  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 

Vermonters !  have  you  ever  considered  the  circumstances 
under  which  this  force  was  raised  ?  Go  back  with  me  to  these 
Grants  in  May,  1775.  The  Revolution  has  scarcely  com- 
menced ;  Independence  is  not  yet  declared ;  British  tyranny  is 
not  here  especially  oppressive ;  British  troops  have  not  vexed 
this  people.  The  country  is  a  wilderness.  So  slight  an  im- 
pression has  the  axe  of  the  settler  made  on  the  primeval  forests, 
that  one  who  saw  them  from  a  little  distance  would  think  they 
had  never  been  touched  by  the  hand  of  man.  The  stumps  are 
undecayed  in  th :  oldest  clearing ;  there  is  not  here  a  city, 
town  or  village — scarcely  a  hamlet ;  for  Bennington,  the  earli- 
est Grant,  has  not  had  its  church  and  country  store  for  half  a 
score  of  years.  Instead  of  railways  and  turnpikes,  there  are 
foot-paths  and  lines  of  marked  trees.  A  single  road  west  of 
the  Mountains  leads  up  to  the  old  route  to  Crown  Point,  and 
there  is  scarcely  another.  Mails  and  post-oflSces  are  unknown. 
"Wagons  and  other  wheeled  vehicles  are  not  yet  introduced. 
Travel  is  on  foot.  It  is  the  most  recently  settled  section  of  the 
colonies. 

Through  this  wilderness,  from  the  Massachusetts  line  to  the 

(X)  Allen's  Narrative,  p.  3. 


86 

"Winooski  River,  there  are  scattered  settlers.  Each  has  located 
upon  some  share  in  a  Grant,  bought  before  his  immigration, 
and  this  fact  has  located  them  widely  apart.  Tliere  is  no  State, 
county  or  town  organization.  All  the  government  is  purely 
voluntary.  There  are  no  binding  laws  ;  there  is  no  power  to 
enforce  obedience  to  law.  There  are  only  the  Grand  Commit- 
tee, Allen  and  the  o^her  leaders,  and  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys. 

In  this  world's  gooas  these  settlers  are  very  poor  ;  they  lack 
the  necessaries  of  life.  "  The  people  on  the  Grants  are  in 
much  distress  for  want  of  provisions,"  writes  Captain  Phelps, 
on  the  6th  of  May.  "  There  was  great  scarcity  of  provisions ; 
the  people  are  generally  poor,"  eays  the  journal  of  Captain 
Mott;  and  he  relates  how  he  sent  his  agents  to  Albany,  to  buy 
provisions,  and  forward  them  as  soon  as  possible.  Yes  !  they 
were  poor  enough,  in  all  but  love  of  liberty  ;  in  that,  perhaps 
you  are  no  richer  to-day. 

Can  an  army  be  raised  under  such  conditions,  among  such  a 
people?  Not  to  resist  an  attack,  but  to  make  one,  and  that 
the  first  in  a  Revolution  ;  to  invade,  and  not  to  repel  invasion. 
Not  to  defend  the  family  and  the  fireside,  but  to  engage  in 
aggressive  rebellion,  in  which  failure  brings  the  doom  of  trea- 
son to  all ;  to  capture,  by  force  of  arms,  the  first  fort  from 
Great  Britain,  once  their  mother  country,  henceforth  to  be  their 
powerful,  remorseless  enemy  ;  and  all  this  with  a  celerity  which 
must  achieve  success  by  a  surprise  ?  Who  would  not  have 
answered :  "  In  New  York  or  Massachusetts,  with  their  great 
cities,  towns,  civil  organizations  and  dense  populations,  possibly 
yes;  but  here,  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  in  1775,  no; 
you  state  an  impossibility  I " 

And  yet  that  army  was  raised.  On  the  ninth,  certainly  with- 
in ninety-six,  and  probably  within  seventy-two  hours  from 
Mott's  arrival  at  Bennington,  it  was  raised  on  these  Grants,  and 


37 

counting  detached  parties,  it  stood  three  hundred  strong,  on 
the  east  sliore  of  Lake  Chainplain,  sixty  miles  away  from  the 
point  of  its  origin,  armed,  equipped  and  olHccred,  its  plans  all 
matured,  ready  to  fall  upon  and  capture  Ticonderoga.  How 
was  this  result  accomplished  ? 

This  question  has  never  been  satisfactorily  answered.  Those 
concerned  were  proud  of  their  success,  but  seem  not  to  have 
been  aware  that  in  the  quickness  of  their  gathering,  or  energy 
of  their  movements,  there  was  anything  extraordinary.  They 
did  not  care  to  preserve  the  facts ;  and  now  the  closest  search 
reveals  but  little  information  on  the  subject.  There  is,  how- 
ever, one  fact,  briefly  stated.  Perhaps  it  is  enough,  for  it  illu- 
minates the  subject.  From  Castleton,  Allen  sent  out  a  mes- 
senger to  summon,  men  to  meet  him  at  Shoreham,  who  made 
a  circuit  of  sixty  miles  in  a  single  day.  He  must  have  had 
a  fleet  horse,  you  will  say ;  over  such  roads,  through  such  for- 
ests, sixty  miles  was  a  long  day's  journey  for  any  horseman. 
No !  Major  Beach  went,  not  on  horseback,  but  on  foot,  from 
Castleton  through  Rutland,  Pittsford,  Brandon,  Middlebury, 
Whiting,  to  Hand's  Cove,  in  Shoreham,  in  twenty-four  hours, 
summoning  his  men  by  the  way.*"'  Such  a  fact  requires  no  com- 
ment. If  such  was  their  energy,  even  the  raising  ot  this  army 
was  a  possibility. 

Look  at  the  picture !  Allen  determines  to  undertake  the 
enterprise.  Instantly  his  messengers,  stout  of  heart,  and  fleet 
of  foot,  bound  away  in  all  directions:  over  the  mountains, 
through  the  deep  forests  and  tangled  brushwood,  across  rivers, 
up  the  hills  and  down  into  the  valleys,  to  every  cabin  which  is 
the  home  of  a  Green  Mountain  Boy  !  Their  stay  is  short ;  their 
words  are  few.  "Allen  summons;  the  meet  is  Shoreham; 
the  business,  Ti. ;  the  time,  now ; "  and  he  is  oflf  to  the  next 
settler,  perhaps  miles  away.      Brief,  also,  is  the  preparation. 


W  App.  No.  10. 


Allen  knows  they  will  not  fail  him ;  they  know  what  Allen 
expects.  Home,  business,  family,  nor  excuse,  delays  the  farmer. 
Boldier.  The  rifle,  the  bullet-pouch  and  powder-horn  are 
always  ready.  The  wife  fills  up  the  knapsack  with  provisions 
for  the  march;  and,  be  it  midnight  or  high  noon,  he  is  away, 
before  the  short  prayer  can  be  uttered  for  his  safe  return.  See 
them,  as  they  come,  striding  over  the  hills,  winding  along  the 
mountain  paths,  down  into  the  valley,  to  the  one  highway  that 
leads  northward  !  They  have  no  uniforms ;  no  strains  of  mu- 
sic animate  their  march.  Not  in  ranks  or  by  platoons,  but  by 
twos  or  threes  or  singly,  with  swift  and  steady  step,  they  move 
towards  the  place  of  muster.  Below  every  silent  lip,  beneath 
every  buckskin  jacket,  is  a  great,  patriotic  heart.  On  the  face 
of  this  revolving  globe,  there  are  no  truer  soldiers.  Behold 
them,  O  ye  warriors  on  paper,  who  would  rob  them  and  their 
leader  of  laurels  bravely  won  !  They  are  going  to  write  his- 
tory Willi  their  bayonets ;  to  launch  a  new  power  among  the 
nations  into  being !  The  Spirit  of  Liberty  is  abroad.  On  the 
mountain  summit  she  is  bathing  her  jubilant  feet  in  the  rising 
sunlight  of  a  new-born  nation's  glory.  She  has  sounded  forth 
her  summons  to  battle  !  These  are  her  mountain  children ; 
this  their  answer  to  her  bugle  call ! 

"We  now  return  to  Castleton.  It  is  the  evening  of  the  8th 
of  May.  The  party  has  been  drafted  out  and  sent  after  Major 
Skene.  Ethan  Allen  has  gone  to  Shoreham.  All  the  plans 
are  settled  ;  Easton  is  second,  and  Warner  third  in  command. 
The  weary  soldiers  are  preparing  for  their  needed  rest.  Now, 
there  is  the  bustle  of  an  arrival,  and  Benedict  Arnold  appears 
upon  the  scene.  He  is  a  colonel  five 'days  old — a  stranger  to 
every  one  of  the  party.  His  appearance  is  imposing.  His 
new  and  unsoiled  uniform  gleams  with  golden  splendor  beneath 
his  waving  plume  and  sparkling  epaulets.     He  is  not  alone. 


39 

No  I  He  is  "  attended  "  by  a  servant — of  the  genus,  valet  de 
chambre — the  only  one  in  that  camp,  the  first  recorded  appear- 
ance of  the  species  in  Vermont.  To  the  soldiers  of  Ethan 
Allen  he  makes  the  cool  proposal  to  take  the  command  away 
from  their  old  leader,  and  to  elect  himself  chief  of  the  expe- 
dition ! 

Genius  of  the  grotesque  !  Did  the  pencil  of  caricature  ever 
draw  a  more  ludicrous  picture  ?  Dogs  any  man  with  a  gleam 
of  common  sense,  doubt  how  such  men  received  such  a  propo- 
sition from  Benedict  Arnold  ? 

In  relation  to  this  and  subsequent  events,  the  testimony  is 
abundant.  In  addition  to  his  journal.  Captain  Mott,  the  day 
after  the  capture,  wrote  a  detailed  account  of  the  expedition  to 
the  Congress  of  Massachusetts.  This  document  shows  that 
when  Arnold  arrived,  Allen  had  left  Castleton,  and  did  not  see 
him  until  he  went  forward  and  overtook  him  the  next  morning. 
Mott  himself  was  with  the  Skenesborough  party,  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  the  others,  and  was  sent  for  when  Arnold  claimed 
the  command,  "  We  told  him,"  writes  Mott,"  that  we  could 
not  surrender  the  command  to  him,  as  our  people  were  raised 
on  condition  that  they  should  be  commanded  by  their  own 
officers.''^  "  We  were  extremely  rejoiced  to  see  that  you  agreed 
with  us  as  to  the  expediency  and  importance  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  those  garrisons  ;  but  were  shockingly  surprised  when 
Colonel  Arnold  presumed  to  contend  for  the  command  of  those 
forces  that  we  had  raised."  "  But  Mr.  Arnold,  after  we  had 
generously  told  him  our  whole  plan,  strenuously  contended  and 
insisted  upon  his  right  to  command  them  and  all  their  offi- 
cers."'^' 

Arnold's  impudent  pretensions,  as  might  naturally  be  sup- 
posed, raised  a  storm  of  indignation  among  the  soldiers.  They 
"  bred  such  a  mutiny,"  continues  Mott,  that  they  "nearly 

l"J  See  Mott's  Journal,  supra. 


40 

frustrated  our  whole  design,  as  our  men  were  for  clubbing  their 
firelocks  and  marching  home ;"  but  they  were  prevented  by 
their  officers.  Mott,  evidently,  did  not  very  well  understand 
Allen's  character,  for  when  Arnold  went  forward  to  overtake 
him,  his  whole  party  followed,  leaving  all  the  provisions,  "  for 
fear  he  should  prevail  on  Colonel  Allen  to  resign  the  com- 
mand ;"  and  as  he  had  to  go  back  after  the  supplies,  he  did 
not  again  overtake  them  until  the  first  party  had  crossed  the 
lake.  Arnold  succeded  no  better  with  Allen  than  he  had  with 
his  soldiers.  That  Allen  did  not  put  him  under  guard,  or 
somewhere  else,  to  suppress  his  pertinacious  impudence,  is  proof 
that  he  deemed  his  claims  too  idle  to  merit  any  serious  atten- 
tion. It  was  necessary,  however,  for  him  to  reason  with  his 
men.  .  Mott  states,  that  "  Allen  and  Easton  told  them  that  he 
(Arnold)  sliould  not  have  the  command  of  them ;  and  if  he 
had,  their  pay  should  be  the  same."  Their  answer  showed  that 
compensation  had  but  little  influence  upon  their  view  of  the 
subject ;  for,  says  Mott,  "  they  would  damn  their  pay,  and  say 
they  would  not  be  commanded  by  any  others  but  those  they 
engaged  with."  Up  to  the  arrival  at  Shoreham,  it  seems  rea- 
Ronably  certain  that  Arnold  was  not  Tnuch  in  command  of  the 
expedition,  and  it  is  equally  clear  that  it  had  not  yet  been  con- 
verted into  that  double-headed  military  monstrosity — a  force 
with  two  commanders. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  many  that  the  expedition  followed 
the  nearest  route  through  Benson,  to  a  point  opposite  the  fort 
in  Orwell.  This  supposition  is  incorrect.  Leaving  Castleton, 
it  moved  by  the  way  of  Sudbury,  where  it  struck  the  old 
Crown  Point  road,  and  following  that  through  Whiting, 
reached  the  lake  shore  at  Hand's  Cove  in  Shoreliam,  about 
two  miles  north  of  the  fort  on  the  other  side.  The  distance  by 
this  route  was  about  twenty-five  miles,  seven  or  eight  farther 
than  by  the  other.     There  were  two  reas*  ns  for  taking  it :  it 


41  ^V    .  ;;.. ;.f^^ 

was  farther  from  the  lake,  and  there  was  less  hazard  of  dis- 
covery, and  it  brought  them  to  the  shore  in  a  wooded  ravine, 
where  they  were  perfectly  sheltered  from  observation.*'*^ 

The  party  arrived  at  Hand's  Cove  after  nightfall  on  the  ninth 
of  May,  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  one  hundred  recruits. 
It  has  been  statecLthat  Arnold,  failing  to  secure  the  command, 
had  joined  it  as  a  volunteer.  Of  this  I  have  found  no  evidence 
whatever.  From  his  character,  and  what  took  place  the  next 
morning,  it  is  more  probable  that  he  followed  it,  growling  and 
disappointed. 

Upon  reaching  the  lake,  they  found  no  means  of  crossing. 
The  party  sent  to  Skenesborough,  to  bring  the  boats  found 
there  down  the  lake,  had  not  arrived ;  there  was  no  news  from 
Captain  Douglass,  who  had  gone  "  to  obtain  some  of  the  boats 
at  Crown  Point  by  stratagem."  Allen  could  not  send  up  the 
lake  after  boats  without  risking  challenge  from  the  fort.  The 
chances  of  crossing  that  night  seemed  doubtful;  the  norning 
would  bring  discovery. 

But  Douglass  had  not  failed,  nor  did  Allen  despair.  There 
was  a  scow  at  Bridport,  belonging  to  Mr.  Smith,  and  Douglass 
went  for  it.  On  his  way,  he  called  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Stone, 
in  Bridport,  to  secure  the  assistance  of  one  Chapman.  The 
inmates  were  all  at  rest  for  the  night ;  but  two  young  Ver- 
monters,  James  Wilcox  and  Joseph  Tyler,  aroused  from  their 
sleep  in  a  chamber,  overheard  the  conversation  between  Doug- 
lass and  Chapman,  and  instantly  formed  the  project  of  decoy- 
ing on  shore  Major  Skene's  large  row  boat,  which  lay  oif 
Willow  Point,  on  Smith's  farm  in  the  north-west  corner  of 
Bridport,  nearly  opposite  Crown  Point,  in  charge  of  a  colored 
master,  whose  love  for  liquid  comforts  was  universally  under- 
stood. They  dressed,  seized  their  guns  and  a  jug  of  "  Now 
England,"  hurried  off,  picking  up  four  armed  companions  on 


P«)  Goodhue's  Hist.  Shoreham,  p.  13. 


42 

their  way  to  the  shore.  Hailing  the  boat,  they  offered  to  help 
row  it  to  Shoreham.  The  persuasion  of  the  jug  was  too  much 
for  the  colored  captain,  and  the  story  that  they  were  on  their 
way  to  join  a  hunting  party  waiting  at  Shoreham,  allayed  all 
his  suspicions.  The  boat  came  over,  started  at  once,  und  poor 
Jack  and  his  two  companions  did  not  discover  what  I'-ind  of 
hunting  was  on  foot,  until  they  found  themselves  prisoners  of 
war.'"^ 

This  boat,  and  Douglass,  with  the  scow,  reached  Hand's 
Cove  about  the  same  time,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  night; 
other  small  boats  liad  also  been  collected.  Although  every  man 
was  eager  to  be  first  across,  the  boats  would  not  carry  half  the 
party.  Allen  and  eighty-two  men  embarked ;  one  hundred  and 
eighty-seven,  under  Warner,  were  left  behind.  The  heavily 
laden  boats  had  to  be  rowed  to  the  landing  selected,  a  little 
north  of  another  Willow  Point,  on  the  New  York  shore — a 
distance  of  nearly  two  miles.  Here,  just  as  the  dawn  began  to 
light  up  the  eastern  horizon,  they  landed  in  eilence,  formed  in 
three  parallel  lines,  and  sent  back  the  boats  for  their  com- 
panions. 

Allen  now  takes  up  the  story :  "  The  day  ^egan  to  dawn, 
and  I  found  myself  under  a  necessity  to  attack  e  fort  before 
the  rear  could  cross  the  lake ;  and,  as  it  was  vie\  *d  hazardous, 
I  harangued  the  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  man,  ir  following : 
'  Friends  and  fellow  soldiers  !  You  have,  for  a  nuii^  je  of  years 
past,  been  a  scourge  and  terror  to  arbitrary  power,  /our  valo 
has  been  famed  abroad,  and  acknowledged,  as  appears  by  the 
advice  and  orders  to  me  (from  the  General  Assembly  of  Con- 
necticut) to  surprise  and  take  the  garrison  now  before  us.  I 
now  propose  to  advance  before  you,  and,  in  person,  conduct 
you  through  the  wicket  gate  ;  for  we  must,  this  morning,  either 
quit  our  pretensions  to  valor,  or  possess  ourselves  of  this  fortress 


w  App.,  No.  11. 


43 

in  a  few  minutes ;  and,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  desperate  attempt 
(which  none  but  the  bravest  men  dare  undertake),  I  do  not  urge 
it  on  any,  contrary  to  his  will.  You  that  will  undertake, 
voluntarily,  poise  your  firelocks.' "  *"* 

Every  man  poises  his  musket.  They  face  to  the  right 
young  Beeman,  who  lives  jtist  opposite,  who  has  passed  much 
time  at  the  Fort,  who  knows  all  its  passages,  buildings  and 
quarters,  is  their  guide.  Allen  heads  the  center  file.  "  For- 
ward 1 "  is  the  word  of  command.  Directed  by  Beeman,  they 
follow  Allen  through  a  covered  way  to  the  gate.  Here,  a 
sentinel,  confused  by  their  approach,  forgets  to  give  the  alarm, 
but  aims  his  musket  at  Allen,  and  pulls  the  trigger.  It  misses 
fire.  Allen  rushes  at  him  ;  he  gives  a  shout,  and  retreats  into 
the  fort,  under  the  shelter  of  a  bomb-proof.  The  men  press  on 
inside  the  walls  to  the  parade,  where,  facing  the  barracks,  they 
form  like  regulars,  and  give  three  huzzas,  which  arouse  the 
sleeping  garrison.  A  guard  thrusts  at  an  officer  of  the  invad- 
ing force  with  his  bayonet,  and  slightly  wounds  him.  Allen 
strikes  up  the  weapon,  and  deals  a  blow  at  the  assailant's  head. 
His  life  is  saved  by  a  comb,  which  turns  the  force  of  the  blow ; 
lie  drops  his  gun  and  asks  for  quarter.  "  Where  is  the  officer 
in  command  !  "  thunders  the  leader.  He  is  shown  to  a  room  on 
the  second  floor  of  the  officers'  quarters ;  he  summons  Captain 
Delaplace  to  come  forth,  or  he  will  sacrifice  the  garrison. 
Aroused  from  his  sleep,  half  naked  and  half  stupified,  clothes 
in  hand,  he  appears,  and,  in  reply  to  Allen's  demand  for  instant 
surrender,  asks,  "  By  what  authority  ?  "  "  In  the  name  of  the 
Great  Jehovah,  and  the  Continentai.  Congress  ! "  is  the 
answer.  He  hesitates.  Of  Congress,  he  knows  !)ut  little. 
The  demand  is  repeated.  He  submits,  and  orders  his  men  to 
parade  without  arms,  for  he  has  given  up  the  garrison.  Mean- 
time, the  impatient  Vermonters  have  beaten  down  the  doors, 

,  <»)  Allen's  Narrative,  p.  2. 


44 

and  captured  half  the  enemy.  OflSccrs  and  men  parade'on  the 
square ;  the  cry  of  joyous  triumph  sahites  the  glad  sun  as  it 
bursts  over  the  eastern  hills.  Defiance  and  Independence  roll 
back  the  echoing  shouts  of  the  sons  of  liberty.  The  first 
victory  for  freedom  has  been  won ;  the  first  British  fort  has 
been  captured,  and  Ticonderoga  has  surrendered  to  the  hero  of 
the  Green  Mountains ! 

The  men  left  upon  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  less  fortun- 
ate, but  not  less  brave,  led  by  the  gallant  Warner,  now  arrive 
to  join  in  the  triumph  of  their  comrades.  Doubtless,  as  Allen 
eays,  there  was  some  "  tossing  of  the  flowing  bowl,"  and  the 
war  whoop  with  which,  according  to  one  account,  the  assail- 
ants swarmed  through  the  wicket  and  over  the  walls,  was  not 
wholly  silenced  by  the  surrender.  Warner  insists  on  his  right 
to  go  at  once  and  attack  Crown  Point.  He  sets  oflf,  and  that 
fortress  falls  the  next  day.'*'^  The  "  Gate  of  the  Country "  is 
held  by  the  sons  of  liberty.  Thej'  have  made  that  capture 
wliich,  under  the  circumstances,  was  of  greater  value  to  the 
popular  cause  than  any  other  that  could  have  been  made  in  all 
the  colonies. 

Since  my  purpose  is  the  examination  of  disputed  questions, 
rather  than  the  presentation  of  familiar  history,  I  proceed  to 
the  next  piece  of  evidence  which  bears  upon  the  point  in  con- 
troversy. Though  one  day  later  than  the  report  of  the  "  War 
Committee,"  it  should  be  introduced  here.  It  is  Allen's  letter 
to  the  Albany  Committee,  of  May  llth,'**'  in  which  occurs  the 
expression :  "  I  took  the  Fortress  of  Ticonderoga ;  Colonel 
Easton  and  liis  valiant  soldiers  greatly  distinguished  themselves. 
•  *  *  Colonel  Arnold  entered  the  fortress  with  me,  side 
by  side." 

We  left  Arnold  on  the  road  to  Shoreham,  with  his  claim  to 

l"l  App.,  No.  13.-  W  App.,  No.  18. 


45  * 

command  repudiated  by  the  officers  and  angry  soldiers.  His 
conduct  could  not  have  commended  him  to  the  favor  of  Allen, 
and  yet,  as  the  record  has  stood  hitherto,  Allen  seems  to  have 
gone  quite  out  of  his  way  to  assign  him  a  prominent  place  in 
the  attack,  though  careful,  at  the  same  time,  to  assert  his  own 
exclusive  authority.  Upon  this  expression  in  Allen's  letter,  the 
advocates  of  Arnold  have,  in  great  part,  founded  his  claims. 

It  is  obvious  that  Allen's  expression  has  some  explanation — 
that  we  have  not  had  the  whole  story.  So  singular  has  this 
expression  seemed,  that  some  have  thought  the  reference  to 
Arnold  an  interpolation. 

It  is  well,  therefore,  that  the  explanation  has  been  furnislied. 
Truth  is  always  consistent  with  itself,  and  the  explanation  not 
only  proves  the  exclusive  character  of  Allen's  command,  but  it 
presents  the  two  men  in  their  true  characters.  Allen,  rough 
and  unpohshed,  but  with  no  jealousy  in  his  heart  towards  the 
man  who  sought  to  deprive  him  of  the  only  position  he  seems 
to  have  coveted  ;  Arnold,  conceited  and  imperious,  so  selfish, 
that  he  was  willing  to  imperil  success  for  his  own  advancement. 
The  evidence  now  oftered,  throws  light  just  where  the  story 
requires  it.  It  is  to  be  found  in  a  modest  town  history — an 
example  of  a  class  of  books  now  little  prized,  but  which,  in 
future  times,  will  be  preserved  among  the  treasures  of  the  his- 
torical collector. 

The  Eev.  Josiah  F.  Goodhue  was  the  compiler  of  a  "  History 
of  the  Town  of  Shoreham."  He  was  long  and  well  known  in 
Western  Vermont.  For  nearly  a  fourth  of  a  century,  he  was 
the  settled  minister  of  that  town,  where  his  faithful  service  will 
long  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance.  Numbers  who  liear  me, 
will  testify  to  his  many  qualifications  as  a  historian,  and  con- 
firm my  own  opinions,  based  upon  an  acquaintance  of  thirty 
years.  His  judgment  was  cool  and  clear.  Cautious,  almost  to 
incredulity,  he  was  incapable  of  reaching  a  conclusion  until  it 


46 

was  fully  supported  by  reliable  testimony.  A  fact  recorded  by 
him,  on  the  evidence  of  others,  is  a  guaranty  that  the  evidence 
existed,  and  that,  in  the  opinion  of  a  competent  judge,  it  was 
reliable. 

The  account  given  by  Mr.  Goodhue  of  the  expedition,  pre- 
vious to  the  crossing  of  the  first  detachment,  does  not  difler 
from  that  of  other  authors.  After  stating  that  when  the  first 
party  landed,  "  it  began  to  be  light,"  he  continues : 

"  Allen  therefore  determined  not  to  await  the  arrival  of  tlie 
rest  of  the  men  from  the  other  side,  but  to  pusli  on  immedi- 
ately to  the  attack.  When  Allen  gave  the  word  of  command 
to  march  forward,  Arnold,  contrary  to  the  arrangement  made 
at  Castleton,  interposed,  and  claimed  his  right  to  take  command 
and  lead  the  men,  and  swore  that  he  would  go  into  the  fort 
first.  Allen  swore  he  should  not,  but  tliat  he  liimself  would 
first  enter.  The  dispute  running  high,  Allen,  turning  to  Amos 
Callender,  of  Shoreham,  said :  '  What  shall  I  do  with  the  d — d 
rascal  ?  shall  I  put  him  under  guard  ? '  Callender,  regretting 
such  an  occurrence  at  such  a  critical  time,  and  feeling  the 
importance  of  setting  forward  immediately,  and  of  acting  in 
perfect  liarmony,  advised  them  to  settle  the  difficulty  by  agree- 
ing to  enter  the  fort  together.  They  both  assented,  and  set 
forward  under  the  guidance  of  a  young  man  named  Beeman, 
etc."  His  account  of  the  entry  and  capture  is  the  same  as  that 
given  by  Allen  in  his  "  Narrative." 

Mr.  Goodlme's  authority  for  this  relation  is  presented  in  these 
words :  "  These  statements  I  had  from  Major  Noah  Callender, 
son  of  Amos  Callender,  who  was  with  his  father  at  the  time." 
He  gives  the  language  of  Allen's  demand  for  the  surrender, 
"  By  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  Allen 
states  it,  "  In  the  name  of,  etc," 

Referring  to  the  time  when  his  history  was  written,  Mr. 
Goodhue  speaks  of  Major  Callender  in  these  terms :  "  It  was  a 


47 

happy  circumstance  that  Major  Noah  Callender  had  not  then 
passed  away,  wliose  memory,  though  he  was  then  more  than 
eighty  years  old,  remained  unimpaired.  The  author  held 
frequent  conversations  with  him,  and  noted  down  whatever  he 
deemed  important  for  the  prosecution  of  his  work,  and  it  is 
with  pleasure  he  is  able  to  state  that,  on  no  important  point,  has 
he  found  Major  Callender's  statements  to  be  erroneous,  after 
having  subjected  them  to  the  severest  tests."  This  opinion  of 
his  character  is  supported  by  all  his  neighbors,  among  whom 
his  long,  industrious  life  was  passed. 

All  the  relations  hitherto  cited,  bearing  upon  the  claims  of 
Arnold,  have  been  silent  as  to  everything  which  transpired  be- 
tween the  departure  from  Castleton  and  the  entry  of  the  fort. 
The  only  occasion  upon  which  Allen  refers  to  him,  is  when 
writing  to  the  Albany  Committee.  Mott  and  his  associates,  to 
whose  authority  all  but  Arnold  promptly  submitted,  had 
definitely  given  Allen  the  command,  by  vote,  before  he  left 
Castleton.  The  statement  of  Major  Callender  fills  the  hiatvs 
in  the  evidence  between  Castleton  and  the  entry  of  the  fort, 
and  shows  that  Arnold  was  permitted  to  enter  the  fort  with 
Allen,  to  settle  a  dispute  which  the  former  had  created,  after 
the  first  party  had  landed,  which  threatened  the  success  of  the 
expedition.  It  also  proves  that  Arnold's  claim  to  command 
was  rejected  on  the  very  eve  of  the  entry.  Allen's  expression 
in  his  letter  is  explained  in  a  manner  which  excludes  tlie  con- 
clusion that  he  yielded  the  command  to  him  in  the  slightest 
degree,  and  thus,  the  only  evidence  in  Arnold's  favor,  except 
his  own  assertions,  disappears  from  the  historical  record.'^' 

On  the  same  day,  with  his  letter  to  Albany,  Allen  wrote  an 
account  of  the  capture  of  the  fort  to  the  Congress  of  Massa- 
chusetts. In  the  latter,  he  asserts  that  he  captured  the  fort 
witli  a  force  of  Green  Mountain  Boys,  aided  by  soldiers  from 

l"l  Goodhue's  IJistory  of  Shoreham,  12  to  16. 


48 

Massacliusetts.  He  speaks  in  terms  of  warm  commendation  of 
Colonel  Easton  and  Mr.  Brown,  but  does  not  mention  Arnold, 
— a  singular  omission,  if  Arnold  participated  in  the  command, 
when  he  was  writing  an  official  report  to  the  authority  from 
which  the  latter  claimed  to  hold  his  commission.'*" 

After  the  surrender,  tlie  proofs  accumulate  of  Arnold's 
envy  and  disappointment.  He  could  not  be  contented  to  yield 
to  Allen  the  credit  of  the  capture.  "  He  again,"  says  the 
journal  of  Captain  Mott,  "  challenged  the  command,  and  in- 
sisted that  ho  had  a  right  to  have  it,  on  which  our  soldiers 
at/ain  paraded,  and  declared  they  would  gro  right  home,  for 
they  would  not  he  commanded  by  Arnold.  I  told  them 
they  should  not,  and  at  length  pacified  them ;  and  then  reasoned 
with  Arnold,  and  told  him  as  he  had  not  raised  any  Tnen,  he 
could  not  expect  to  have  the  command  of  ours.  He  still  in- 
sisted, etc."  In  his  letter,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
War,  May  11th,  Mott  adds:  "After  the  surrender,  Arnold 
again  assumed  the  command  of  the  garrison,  although  he  had 
not  one  man  there,  and  demanded  it  of  Colonel  Allen,  on 
which  we  gave  Colonel  Allen  his  orders,  in  writing,  as  foUoweth, 
viz. : 

"  To  Colonel  ErnAN  Alltin  : 

Sir — Whereas,  agreeable  to  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given  by  the 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  we  have  appointed  you  to  talce  command  of  a 
party  of  men,  and  reduce  and  talce  possession  of  the  garrison  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  the  dependencies ;  and,  as  you  are  now  in  possession  of  the 
same,  you  are  hereby  directed  to  licep  the  possession  of  said  garrison  for 
the  use  of  the  American  Colonies,  till  you  have  further  orders  from  the 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  or  from  the  Continental  Congress. 

Signed,  per  order  of  the  Committee,  . 

TicoNDEJiOGA,  May  10, 1775.  EDWARD  MOTT,  Cluiirman." 

In  the  same  letter  the  Committee  commend  Colonel  Easton 
as  well  qualified  for  a  colonel's  command  in  the  field.    They 

i"J  App.,  No.  li. 


49 

also  "recommend  John  Brown,  of  Pittsfield,  as  an  able  coun 
sellor,  full  of  spirit  and  resolution,"  and  "  wish  they  may  both 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  their  country,  equal  to  their 
merit." 

The  annoyance  caused  by  Arnold's  quarrelsome  pertinacity 
is  apparent  from  a  letter,  written  on  the  day  of  the  capture,  to 
the  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  signed  by  James  Easton,  Epap. 
Bull,  Edward  Mott  and  Noah  Phelps,  as  "Committee  of  War 
for  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point."  ^'*' 
It  sets  forth  tliat,  "  previous  to  Arnold's  arrival,  the  Committee 
had  raised  the  force,  marclied  it  within  a  few  miles  of  the  fort," 
and,  "  this  morning,  at  daybreak,  took  possession  of  said  fort, 
and  have  given  the  command  thereof  into  the  hands  of  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen.  And  said  Arnold  refuses  to  give  up  his  com- 
mand, which  causes  nuich  difficulty ;  said  Arnold  not  having 
enlisted  one  man,  neither  do  wc  know  that  he  has,  or  could  do 
it.  And  as  said  Committee  have  raised  the  men,  and  are  still 
raising  supplies  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  said  forts,  taking 
the  armed  sloop,  and  defending  this  country  and  said  forts,  we 
think  that  said  Arnold's  further  procedure  in  this  matter  highly 
inexpedient,  both  in  regard  to  expense  and  defense."  As  these 
gentlemen  were  not  acting  under  Massachusetts,  nor  bound  to 
report  to  her  Congress,  this  letter  seems  to  have  been  writteu 
to  induce  Arnold's  recall. 

Colonel  Allen's  letter  to  Governor  Trumbull,  of  May  15th, 
is  next  in  order.'^^  This  letter  does  not  mention  Arnold's  name, 
and  it  was  carried  by  the  detachment  sent  to  Connecticut  with 
the  prisoners.  "  I  make  you  a  present,"  writes  Allen,  "  of  a 
major,  a  captain  and  two  lieutenants,  in  the  regular  establish- 
ment of  George  the  Third.  I  hope  they  may  serve  as  ransoms 
for  some  of  our  friends  at  Boston."  He  announces  his  purpose 
to  capture  the  royal  sloop  cruising  on  the  lake ;  states  that  the 


W  Mott's  Journal  and  Letter,  supra.  l"J  1,  Conn.  H.  8.  Coil's.,  p.  178, 

4  '      , 


60 

entorpriso  had  been  approved  of  by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
and  his  confidence  in  its  success,  and  subscribes  Iiimself,  "  At 
present,  Commander  of  Ticonderoga." 

On  the  16tli  of  May,  a  week  after  the  capture.  Captain 
Phelps  addressed  a  letter  from  Skenesborough  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut,  in  which  he  recounts  the  progress  of 
the  expedition ;  the  rendezvous  at  Castleton ;  the  reconnois- 
sance  of  the  fort,  and  says :  "  On  the  ]  0th  day  of  May  instant, 
we  took  Fort  Ticonderoga,  and  also  Major  Skene,  and  have 
sent  them,  with  proper  guards,  to  Hartford.  There  is,  at  the 
fort,  about  two  hundred  men, — in  a  fort  of  broken  walls  and 
gates,  and  but  few  cannon  in  order,  and  very  much  out  of  re- 
pair; and  in  a  great  quarrel  with  Colonel  Arnold,  who 
shall  command  the  fort,  even  that  some  of  the  soldiers 
threaten  the  life  of  Colonel  Arnold."  *  «  "  I  also  saw  a 
young  gentleman  from  Albany,  that  says  they  disapproved  of 
our  proceeding  in  taking  the  fort,  in  that  we  did  not  acquaint 
them  of  it  before  it  was  done.  Perhaps  it  would  be  well  if 
some  gentleman  should  wait  on  the  Congress  at  New  York,  so 
as  to  keep  peace  with  them."  '"' 

It  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable,  that  the  cotemporary 
accounts  should  be  erroneous  in  respect  to  the  question  of  com- 
mand. On  the  17th  of  May,  the  "  Spy,"  published  at  Worces- 
ter, Mass.,  contained  an  account  of  the  expedition,  which  states 
that  the  men  were  raised  by  Colonels  Allen  and  Easton, 
"  agreeable  to  a  plan  formed  in  Connecticut."  It  relates  the 
Bending  of  one  party  of  about  thirty  men  to  take  Major  Skene 
into  custody ;  that  the  remainder  crossed  the  lake  in  the  night, 
landed  about  half  a  mile  from  said  fortress,  and  at  break  of 
day.  May  10th,  made  the  assault  with  great  intrepidity ;  our 
men  darting  like  lightning  upon  the  guards,  gave  them  just 
time  to  snap  two  guns,  before  they  took  them  prisoners.     This 

W   •  '  '  ' •..■HI  I  ■         ■  I   .1-  ..   ,  ....  ,  ,  ,,, ,    ,    « I   .. 

-^.^i-.v=;;r-'-^^*.v*-f'W'-':--v;--    •  i»n  App.,  No.  15.  '■'■■■ 


51 

was  immediately  followed  by  a  reduction  of  the  fort  and  its 
dependencies."  In  this  account,  the  value  of  the  captured 
property  is  given  at  not  less  than  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  or  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars.  In  this  particular 
statement,  there  is  no  reference  to  Arnold.'"' 

The  captured  officers  were  sent  to  Conne(!ti(!ut  in  charge  of 
Messrs.  Ilickok,  Halsey  and  Nichols,  who  reached  Hartford  on 
the  IGth  of  May,  M'ith  Allen's  letter  to  Governor  Trumbull,  of 
the  12tli,  before  cited.  The  remaining  prisoners  reached  Hart- 
ford on  Saturday,  two  days  later,  in  charge  of  Epaphras  Bull, 
a  member  of  the  committee  of  wliich  Mott  was  chairman. 
The  Hartford  "  Courant,"  published  on  the  next  Monday,  con- 
tains an  "  Autlientic  account  of  the  Fortress  of  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point,"  in  which  it  is  stated  that  "  Colonel  Allen^ 
commanding  the  soldiery^  on  Wednesday  morning  they  sur- 
prised and  took  possession  of  the  fortress."  Governor  Hall 
expresses  what  must  be  the  conclusion  of  every  impartial  mind 
when  he  says :  "  This  account,  brought  direct  from  Ticonderoga 
by  the  persons  having  charge  of  the  prisoners,  and  who  be- 
longed to  the  party  sent  from  Hartford  with  the  expedition,  is 
entitled  to  the  character  and  credit  of  an  official  report.'"' 

The  man  who  should  know  best  who  his  captor  was,  was  the 
commander  of  Ticonderoga.  He  knew  to  whom  he  surrendered 
the  fort,  and  who  made  the  demand  for  its  surrender.  The 
singular  arrangement  of  a  divided  command  would  have 
attracted  the  notice  of  a  military  officer.  The  evidence  of 
Oaptain  Delaplace,  therefore,  may  well  be  regarded  as  conclu- 
sive. On  the  24th  of  May,  within  two  weeks  of  the  event,  he 
drew  up  a  memorial  for  the  release  of  himself  and  his  captured 
companions.  In  this  memorial,  presented  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut  on  the  day  of  its  date,  he  says: 
*'  That  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  May,  the  garrison  of  the 


»«  App.,  No.  18.  [MJ  Hall's  Address,  p. «!. 


62 

Fortress  of  Ticonderoga,  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  was 
surprised  by  a  party  of  armed  men,  under  the  command  of 
one  Ethan  Allen,  consisting  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
who  had  taken  such  measures  as  effectually  to  surprise  the 
same ;  that  very  little  resistance  could  be  made,  and  to  whom 
your  memoriahsts  were  obliged  to  surrender  as  prisoners ;  and, 
overpowered  by  a  superior  force,  were  disarmed,  and  by  said 
Allen  ordered  immediately  to  be  sent  to  Hartford."  *^''' 

On  the  18th  of  May,  the  New  York  journals  published  what 
was  termed  "An  authentic  account  of  the  taking"  of  these 
forts.  They  describo  the  movement  from  Connecticut,  the 
journey  of  Mott,  Brown  and  Easton,  and  say:  "The  men  were 
raised,  and  proceeded,  as  directed  by  said  Mott  and  Phelps, — 
Colonel  Ethan  Allen  commanding  the  soldiery."  This 
account  does  not  refer  to  Arnold.  At  that  time  it  was  not 
supposed  that  Arnold  would  attempt  to  assert  a  claim  to  the 
actual  command,  whatever  might  have  been  his  opinion  of  his 
right  to  it,  as  a  question  of  conflicting  authority.'"' 

Upon  what  evidence,  then,  is  the  claim  founded,  that  Arnold 
had  any  part  in  the  origin  of  the  expedition  against  Ticonder- 
oga ;  or  that  he  participated  in  the  capture,  otherwise  than  as 
an  obstruction  which  imperilled  its  success  ?  I  think  the  answer 
must  be,  that  it  rests  on  the  unsupported  testimony  of  a  single 
witness,  unworthy  of  credit,  habitually  untruthful — as  unre- 
liable as  was  ever  cited  by  a  writer  of  history.  That  witness 
is  Arnold  himself.  Your  attention  is  invited  to  an  examination 
of  his  evidence. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Colonel  Parsons  met  Arnold, 
and  conversed  with  him  about  Ticonderoga,  on  the  26th  of 
April.  We  do  not  know  what  passed  in  that  interview,  but,  in 
the  then  impending  excitement,  it  is  improbable  that  its  capture, 

(«)  ^pp.  17.  <">  See  App.  18. 


,-^:*.;-- 


53 

and  its  value  to  the  colonies,  should  not  have  forme^i  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation.  On  the  30th,  Arnold  addressed  a  note 
to  the  Massachusetts  Committee,  deserihing  the  condition  of 
the  fort,  hut  silent  on  the  subject  of  its  capture.  On  the 
second  of  May,  the  Committee  appointed  a  sub-committee  to 
confer  with  Arnold  relative  to  a  proposal  made  by  him,  for  an 
attempt  upon  Ticonderoga ;  authorized  him  to  appoint  two 
field  officers,  captains,  etc.,  and  to  dismiss  them  when  he 
thought  proper,  and  ordered  the  Committee  of  Supplies  to 
furnish  him  with  ten  horses,  to  be  employed  on  a  special  service. 
On  the  third,  they  commissioned  him  "  Colonel  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief over  a  body  of  men,  not  exceeding  four  hun- 
dred, to  proceed  with  all  expedition  to  the  western  parts  of  this 
and  the  neigliboring  colonies,  where  you  are  directed  to  enlist 
tJiose  men,  and,  with  them,  forthwith  to  march  to  the  fort  at 
Ticonderog.j  and  use  your  best  endeavors  to  reduce  the  same," 
etc.<^" 

It  is  obvious  from  this  action  of  the  Committee,  that  if 
Arnold  suspected  that  an  expedition  was  already  on  foot  for 
the  capture  of  this  fort,  he  did  not  communicate  his  suspicions 
to  the  Committee.  Their  action  looks  to  tlie  raising  of  a  force 
in  western  Massachusetts,  tlie  appointment  of  its  officers,  and 
the  furnishing  of  its  supplies.  Nothing  was  further  from  the 
Committee's  intention,  than  to  give  liim  the  command  of  a 
force  already  raised,  or  to  be  raised,  in  another  State,  over 
which  Massachusetts  had  no  jurisdiction. 

It  has  been  commonly  supposed  that  Arnold  undertook,  in 
good  faith,  to  execute  the  instructions  of  the  Committee  ;  that 
he  went  to  Berkshire,  the  western  county  of  Massachusetts, 
and  commenced  his  enlistments ;  but  finding  that  an  expedition 
had  already  started,  left  otliers  to  complete  the  work,  and,  him- 
self, hurried  on  until  he  overtook  the  party  at  Castleton. 


.^. 


(">  Forces'  Acchlves,  4tli  S.,  V.  II.,  p.  750,  751. 


54 

This,  I  think,  is  an  incorrect  conclusion.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  he  ever  raised,  or  undertook  to  raise  a  man  ! 
What  he  did  do  will  be  hereafter  shown. 

The  distance  from  Cambridge  to  Eupert,  Vermont,  which 
he  reached  on  the  8th  of  May,  by  the  most  direct  route,  was 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles.  If  he  left  Cam- 
bridge the  day  after  his  commisson  bears  date,  his  movements 
must  have  been  undelayed,  if  he  readied  Rupert  by  the  8th. 
That  he  could  have  gone  by  the  way  of  Pittsfield,  stopping 
long  enough  to  make  arrangements  for  raising  men,  is  highly 
improbable,  for  that  would  liave  added  seventy-five  miles  to  the 
length  of  his  journey.  If  he  went  to  western  Massachusetts, 
he  would  certainly  have  gone  to  Pittsfield,  for  that  was  the 
principal  town,  and  the  headquarters  of  Colonel  Easton's 
regiment.  That  he  did  not  go  there,  is  shown,  I  think,  by  the 
letter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  illen  to  General  Pomeroy,  who, 
writing  from  Pittsfield  on  the  9th,  the  day  after  Arnold  reached 
Castleton,  says :  "  Since  I  wrote  the  last  paragraph,  an  express 
has  arrived  from  B.  Arnold,  Commander  of  the  forces  against 
Ticonderoga,  for  recruits."  '"*  Mr.  Allen  was  one  of  the  most 
active  of  the  friends  of  liberty  in  Pittsfield.  It  is  impossible 
that  Arnold  should  have  been  in  his  town,  enlisting  men,  three 
days  before,  without  his  knowledge. 

Arnold's  letter  from  Rupert,  Vt.,  of  May  8th,  is  directed  to 
the  gentlemen  in  the  southern  towns,  and  urges  them  to  exert 
themselves,  and  to  send  forward  as  many  men  as  they  can  possi- 
bly spare  "  to  join  the  army  here"  It  contains  directions  about 
their  provisions,  ammunition  and  blankets  ;  states  their  wages, 
which  he  engages  "  to  see  paid ; "  and  describes  the  number  of 
men  at  the  fort,  and  states  what  he  desires  to  accomplish.'"* 
It  is  precisely  such  a  letter  as  he  would  have  written  if  he  liad 
not  been  to  Pittsfield  before,  and  states  the  facts  which  ho 


<")  App.,  No.  19.  '")  App.,  No.  20. 


55 

would  have  certainly  communicated  in  person,  if  he  had  had 
the  opportunity.  The  expression,  "  Commander  of  the  forces," 
is  the  same  totidem  verbis  with  that  used  bj-  Mr.  Allen  in  his 
letter  from  Pittsfield,  and  renders  it  highly  probable  that  this 
letter  was  brought  by  the  express  to  which  the  Eev.  Thomas 
Allen  refers,  as  having  arnved  on  the  9th  from  "  B.  Arnold, 
Commander  of  the  forces,"  etc. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  in  connection  with  Arnold's  perti- 
nacious repetition  of  his  claim  to  the  command,  before  and 
after  the  capture,  his  conduct  may  be  more  reasonally  accounted 
for  in  another  way.  He  suspected,  perhaps  knew,  that  Parsons 
would  go  to  Hartford  and  get  up  the  expedition.  If  Parsons 
intended  to  do  what  he  did  a  few  hours  later,  his  purpose  was 
formed  before,  or  during,  his  interview  with  Arnold,  and,  as 
the  latter  was  on  his  way  to  Cambridge,  there  was  no  reason 
why  Parsons  should  conceal  his  purpose.  Arnold  also  knew 
that  secrecy  would  induce  Parsons  not  to  make  his  object 
known  to  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut;  that  he  would,  there- 
fore, have  no  commission  from  that  body,  and,  upon  the  Grants, 
there  was  no  recognized  authority  which  could  commission  any- 
body. Arnold's  plan  to  secure  command  of  the  expedition, 
and,  in  the  event  of  success,  the  honor  of  the  capture,  only  re- 
quired a  commission,  as  color  of  authority.  Arrived  at  Cam- 
bridge, he  applied  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  represented  the 
value  of  the  fort,  and  the  ease  with  which  it  could  be  taken  ; 
and  the  Committee,  not  aware  that  an  expedition  was  on  foot, 
having  use  at  home  for  the  forces  already  raised,  readily  com- 
missioned him,  on  condition  that  he  should  raise  his  own  men. 
Such  a  commission,  Arnold  thought,  would  serve  his  purpose, 
and,  having  obtained  it,  he  pushed  straight  for  the  fort  by  the 
shortest  and  quickest  route,  sending  an  express  to  western 
Massachusetts,  to  enlist  men.  He  knew  that  no  officer  in  the 
party  had  any  regular  commission ;  if  he  could  overtake  it  be- 


56 

fore  the  capture,  he  expected  a  ready  submission.  Others 
would  have  the  labor,  he  the  lionor  of  the  enterprise.  This 
view  explains  his  angrj'  disappointment  at  the  stern  refusal 
which  met  his  assertion  of  command,  and  his  repeated  claim 
that  he  alone  had  any  Irgal  autliority.  It  is  also  confirmed  by 
the  fact,  that  not  a  man  raised  under  Arnold's  authority  reached 
the  fort  until  the  13tli,  as  1  shall  show  hereafter.  If  he  began 
to  raise  recruits  as  early  as  tlie  6th  or  7th  of  May,  wlien  so 
much  depended  upon  expedition,  some  of  them  could  luxvo 
reached  the  fort  in  less  than  a  week,  with  no  obstructions  in 
their  way,  if  Ethan  Allen  could  raise  his  army,  march  it  about 
the  same  distance,  gather  up  the  scattered  boats,  cross  the  lake 
and  capture  Ticonderoga  in  less  than  five  days. 

The  first  document  upon  which  Arnold's  claim  of  actual 
command  rests,  is  his  letter  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee, 
dated  May  lltli,  the  day  after  the  fort  was  taken.'"^  He  refers 
in  this  letter  to  one  written  the  day  before,  in  which  he  stated 
that,  on  his  arrival  in  the  vicinity,  he  found  and  joined  a  party, 
led  by  Allen,  bound  on  the  same  errand  with  himself;  that  he 
decided  not  to  wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  troops  he  "  had 
engaged  on  the  road  !  "  That  "  we  had  taken  the  fort,  etc.," 
of  which  he  intended  to  keep  possession  until  further  advices. 
He  asserts  that  "  on  and  before  our  taking  possession  here,  I 
had  agreed  with  Colonel  Allen  to  issue  further  orders  jointly, 
until  I  could  raise  a  sufiicient  number  of  men  to  reheve  his 
people,  since  which.  Colonel  Allen,  finding  he  had  the  ascend- 
ancy over  his  people^  positively  insisted  I  should  have  no  com- 
mand." "  The  power  is  now  taken  out  of  my  hands,  and  I  am 
not  consulted ;  neither  have  I  any  voice  in  any  matters." 

This  letter  was  written  the  day  his  express  for  men  arrived 
at  Pittsfield.  He  had  not,  at  that  time,  a  man  ''  engaged." 
The  Mott  Committee  were  not  aware  that  he  had  "  raised  one 


l«J  App.,  No.  21. 


;,L'; 


6T 

man  ; "  and  yet  he  writes  as  if  his  army  was  on  the  march,  and 
its  arrival  expected  in  a  short  time.  What  had  he  to  do  with 
"  deciding  "  upon  tlie  time  when  the  attack  should  be  made  ? 
He  speaks  of  those  who  were  to  make  it  as  Allen's  "  people," 
and  yet  he  asserts  an  agreement  made  with  Allen,  "  on  and 
before  taking  possession,"  "  to  issue  further  orders  jointly." 
Were  there  two  agreements  ?  Did  tliey  refer  to  orders  after 
the  fort  was  in  possession  of  the  Vermonters,  or  jprevious  to 
the  capture  ?  It  has  been  shown  that  Allen  was  not  present 
when  Arnold  claimed  the  command,  at  Castleton  ;  that  the  men 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him  ;  that,  when  he  pressed  his 
claim,  the}'  were  excited,  almost  to  mutiny;  that  when  he 
followed  after  Allen,  Mott  and  his  Committee  pursued  Irim, 
fearing  that  Allen  might  yield ;  that  Allen  refused  to  yield, 
and  the  men  said  they  would  not  submit  if  he  did  !  Where, 
then,  was  this  agreement  made  ?  Arnold's  answer  is,  "  on  and 
before  the  capture."  Allen  receded  from  it,  "  finding  he  had 
the  ascendancy  over  his  men."  When  was  Allen  in  doubt 
about  his  relations  to  his  men,  and  their  wish  that  he  should 
command  them  ?  Arnold's  account  will  not  bear  analysis. 
There  is  an  incoherence  of  time,  place  and  circumstances  in 
the  statement  of  this  agreement,  which  proves  its  own  manu- 
facture by  a  false  witness.  It  is  as  absurd,  considered  in  coimcc- 
tion  with  the  admitted  facts,  as  the  military  novelty  of  an 
attacking  force  with  two  commanders,  equal  in  rank  and 
authority. 

The  same  letter  describes  the  soldiers,  after  tlie  capture,  as 
being  in  a  state  of  anarchy — plundering  private  property, 
threatening  desertion,  and  other  enormities — and  states  that 
one  hundred  men  would  easily  retake  the  place.  Here,  asrain. 
Arnold  is  contradicted  by  tiie  facts.  Had  they  been  plundered, 
would  Delaplace  and  his  men  liave  kept  silence  ?  In  all  their 
complaints,  and  they  made  many,  there  is  no  word  of  com- 


58 

plaint  against  Allen  and  his  men.  "With  a  single  exception 
Arnold  is  the  only  witness  on  r  is  point,  and  the  exception  only 
proves  that  Arnold  impressed  one  man,  twenty  days  after  the 
capture,  with  the  idea  that,  but  for  Arnold,  "  people  wotdd 
have  been  plundered  of  their  private  property."  There  was 
no  private  property,  except  such  as  may  have  belonged  to  the 
inmates  of  the  fort. 

One  statement  in  this  letter  is  so  palpably  untrue,  that  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  why  even  Arnold  should  have  mdde  it. 
He  avers  that  the  party  "  I  advised  were  gone  to  Crown  Point, 
are  returned,"  and  that  expedition  "is  entirely  laid  aside." 
At  the  moment  that  letter  was  written.  Crown  Point  was 
actually  in  Warner's  possession.^"^  Arnold  probably  knew 
the  fact  of  its  capture.  He  must  have  known  that  Warner  and 
his  party  had  gone  to  take  it,  and  he  knew  he  was  penning  a 
falsehood  when  he  wrote  that  the  expedition  was  laid  aside. 
He  admits  that  Allen  is  a  proper  man  to  head  "  his  own  wild 
people,"  but  insists  that  he  is  ignorant  of  military  science. 
His  dissatisfaction  is  universal.  Although  the  power  was  taken 
out  of  his  hands,  and  he  had  "  no  voice  in  any  matters,^'  he 
"  is  determined  to  insist  on  his  rights,  and  remain  here  against 
all  opposition,"  as  he  "is  the  only  person  who  has  been  legally 
authorized  to  take  possession  of  this  place."  This  expression 
confirms  the  committee's  account,  that  he  persisted  in  his  claim 
to  the  command  after  he  was  repudiated  by  the  entire  party. 
Were  there  no  other  evidence  than  the  statements  of  this 
angry  letter,  all  fair  men  would  pronounce  Arnold's  claim  to 
participate  in  the  command,  as  untrue  as,  in  view  of  the  facts, 
it  was  improbable. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  Arnold  again  wrote  the  same  Com- 
mittee.'"' This  letter  recounts  the  insults  he  had  suffered  in 
the  public  service;  declares  that  he  has  about  one  hundred 

«"'  App.  No.  22.  i«>  See  App.  No.  28. 


5d 

men,  and  is  expecting  more ;  that  the  dispute  between  himself 
and  Allen  is  subsiding ;  but  contains  no  other  reference  to  the 
subject  of  command.  The  material  facts  of  this  letter  are  all 
untrue.  Arnold  says :  "  I  ordered  a  party  to  Skenesborough, 
to  take  Major  Skene^  who  have  vnade  him  prisoner,  and 
seized  a  small  schooner,  which  has  just  arrived  here." 
Skene  was  taken  on  the  9th  of  May,  the  day  before  the  fort 
was  captured.  The  capturing  party,  under  Herrick,  had  been 
sent  from  Castleton  before  Arnold  reached  there.  Two  days 
before  the  date  of  this  letter,  Allen  had  sent  Skene  and  Dela- 
place  to  Hartford,  as  prisoners  of  war.  And  yet  Arnold  writes, 
"  /ordered  the  party,"  etc.  And  this  statement  convicts  him 
of  another  falsehood.  His  express  had  reached  Pittsfield  on 
the  9th.  Eighteen  men  each,  were  drafted  from  some  of  the  com- 
panies of  Colonel  Eastou's  regiment,  m\djifty  men  thus  raised, 
under  Captains  Brown  and  Oswald,  arrived  at  Skenesborough 
on  the  11th.  They  left  in  the  schooner  which  Herrick  had 
captured,  and  reached  Ticonderoga  on  the  14th.  Tliey  were 
the  first  men  who  came  to  Arnold,  and  they  were  only  fifty  in 
number,  as  Arnold  himself  states  in  his  next  letter  of  May 
19th.  He  thus  doubles  their  number,  and  reports  to  his 
superiors  that  he  had  originated  the  plan  of  capturing  Skenes- 
borough, and  despatched  the  party,  which  had  just  returned, 
after  successfully  executing  his  plan.  That  the  vessel  arrived, 
is  the  only  element  of  truth  in  the  statement.  The  men  who 
came  on  her  had  not  been  enlisted  when  Skenesborough  was 
captured. 

Arnold's  next  letter  is  dated  at  Crown  Point,  on  the  19th  of 
May.  It  expresses  liis  fears  "  that  some  persons  might  attempt 
to  injure  him  in  the  esteem  of  Congress,"  and  his  desire  to  bo 
"  superseded."  It  has  no  other  reference  to  the  main  question. 
He  announces  the  arrival  of  Brown  and  Oswald  with  fifty 
men,  and  repeats  the  false  statement  that  they  had  taken  pos- 


60 

session  of  the  8choon6r,  at  Skeneaboro'.  He  also  announces 
the  capture  of  the  royal  sloop,  at  St.  Johns,  and  Allen's  depar- 
ture for  Canada.''*' 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  gave  little  counten- 
ance to  Arnold's  assumptions.  On  the  16th  of  May,  the  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  for  Connecticut  had  written  to  the 
Massachusetts  Congress,  that  tlie  expedition  had  been  set  on 
foot  by  some  private  gentlemen  of  the  former  colony,  wlio  had 
made"  the  capture  before  the  Massachusetts  party  came  up. 
Referring  to  the  question  of  command  which  had  arisen,  the 
letter  intimated  tliat  this,  and  all  similar  expeditions,  should  be 
regarded  as  undertaken  for  tlie  common  benetit  of  all  the 
colonies,  and  that  the  present  was  no  time  to  dispute  about 
precedency.'"* 

The  action  of  Massachusetts  upon  the  subject  is  consistent 
with  her  record.  On  the  17th  of  May,  her  Provincial  Con- 
gress received  the  first  information  of  the  capture  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  not  from  Arnold,  but  from  Colonel  Allen  and  Edward 
Mott — the  officer  in  command,  and  the  chairman  cl'  tlie  com- 
mittee under  whom  he  acted.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  letters 
containing  the  information  were  sent  by  Colonel  Easton,  who, 
it  was  stated  in  Allen's  letter,  commanded  tlie  Massachusetts 
men.  Upon  Easton's  an-ival  with  the  letters,  the  Congress 
appointed  one  committee  to  j'eport  on  the  subject  of  the  cap- 
ture, and  another  to  introduce  Colonel  Easton  to  the  House, 
"to  give  a  narrative  of  that  transaction,  and  that  each  member 
have  liberty  to  ask  him  any  questions."  The  report  of  the 
committee  was  presented  on  the  same  day ;  it  proposed  a  letter 
to  Connecticut,  and  a  preamble  and  resolution  in  the  following 
terms : 

"  The  Congress  having  received,  authentic  intelligence  that 
the  fort  at  Ticonderoga   is   surrendered   into    the   hands   of 

.  [«81  Force  lb.,  p.  646.  <">  Force  lb.,  p.  618. 


61 

Colonel  Ethan  Allen  and  others,  together  witli  tlie  artillery 
and  the  artillery  stores,  anniiunition,  etc.,  thereunto  belonging, 
for  the  benefit  of  tiiese  colonies,  occasioned  by  the  intrepid 
valor  of  a  number  of  men  under  the  command  of  the  said 
Colonel  Allen,  Colonel  Easton,  of  the  Ilassachusetts,  and 
others ;  and  by  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  Committee  for 
that  Expedition,  the  said  Colonel  Allen  is  to  remain  in  posses- 
sion of  the  same,  and  its  dependencies,  until  further  orders. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Congress  do  highly  approve  of  the 
same ;  and  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  Connecti- 
cut are  hereby  desired  to  give  directions  rchiiive  to  garrisoning 
and  maintaining  the  same  for  the  future,  until  the  advice  of 
the  Continental  Congress  can  be  had  in  that  behalf." 

There  was  an  additional  resolution,  asking  Connecticut  to 
give  orders  for  the  removal  of  some  of  the  cannon  to  Massa- 
chusetts.^"^' 

It  is  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  just  men,  whether  this 
official  action  of  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts  is  not  decisive 
against  the  claims  now  made  in  Arnold's  behalf.  This  was  the 
Congress  to  which  Arnold  should  have  officially  reported  the 
capture,  if  he  made  it ;  for  he  was  acting  under  its  authority, 
if  he  acted  at  all.  He  not  only  allows  Allen  to  make  this 
official  report,  and  transmit  it  by  Easton,  but  he  contents  him- 
self with  a  complaining  letter,  upon  general  topics,  to  the 
Comuiittee  of  Safety,  consisting  of  a  few  members,  and  never 
reports  the  capture  to  the  Congress.  And  this  Congress, 
having  Easton,  the  Colonel  of  one  of  their  own  regiments,  the 
third  in  rank  at  Ticonderoga,  before  it,  to  give  a  narrative  of 
the  whole  transaction,  with  liberty  to  each  member  to  question 
him— upon  the  report  of  a  special  committee  to  consider  the 
whole  subject — adopts  a  resolution,  which  spreads  upon  its 
records  the  facts  that  the  expedition  was  under  the  orders  of  a 


IMl  dee  Jouruals,  Prov.  Coo.  of  Mass.,  for  May  17, 1775. 


62 

committee;  that  Allen  wa8  in  command,  and  that  the  fort  wb" 
smu'endered  to  him  ;  that  he  is  to  remain  in  possession,  and, 
finally,  approving  of  the  whole  proceeding,  without  making 
any  reference^  express  or  implied^  to  the  man  whom  it  is  now 
claimed  captured  this  fort  under  the  authority  of  the  very 
body  v)hich  thus  ignored  him  and  his  pretensions. 

In  the  letter  to  Connecticut,  Arnold  is  mentioned  in  a  man- 
ner which  shows  the  anxiety  of  the  Congress  to  be  rid  of  hi  , 
as  quietly  as  possible.  Tiiey  suggest  that  Arnold  should  be 
sent  to  Massachusetts  with  some  of  the  cannon,  "  with  all  pos- 
sible haste,"  as  "a  means  of  settling  any  disputes  which  may 
have  arisen  between  him  and  some  other  officers^  This  is 
the  only  reference  to  Arnold  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
gress.<"> 

The  Committee  of  Safety,  on  the  22d  of  May,  referred 
Arnold's  letter,  of  the  11th,  to  the  Congress,  as  relating  to  a 
subject  beyond  its  own  control.  That  body,  on  the  same  day, 
addressed  a  letter  to  Arnold,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  his, 
and  applauding  "  the  conduct  of  the  troops ! "  It  also 
"  thanks  him  for  his  exertions  in  the  cause,"  encloses  a  copy  of 
the  letter  to  Connecticut,  and  then  proceeds  to  dispose  of  the 
whole  subject,  so  far  as  Massachusetts  was  concerned,  by  the 
statement  that,  "  as  the  affairs  of  that  expedition  began  in  the 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  and  the  cause  being  common  to  us  all, 
we  have  already  wrote  to  the  General  Assembly  of  that  Colony 
to  take  the  whole  matter^  respecting  the  same^  under  their 
care  and  direction^''  etc.'"*^ 

This  letter  was  a  practical  revocation  of  any  authority  which 
Massachusetts  had  conferred  upon  Arnold,  and  it  was  clearly 
his  duty  to  have  returned  to  the  army  at  Cambridge ;  or  to 
have  sought  his  future  directions  from  Connecticut.  He  did 
neither ;  but  remained  at  Crown  Point,  where  all  his  subse- 


<")  Force,  807.    See  App.  Ng,  24  ,,-..,        .  l"!  Force  I.,  p;  689. 


68 

quent  letters  are  dated.  In  a  letter  of  May  23d,  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  lie  calls  for  money  and  provisions,  and 
indulges  in  ill-concealed  exultation  over  Allen's  failure  to  take 
Montreal.'*"  Without  waiting  for  any  orders  or  permission 
from  either  Connecticut  or  New  York  to  do  so,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  he  announces  his  purpose  to  send  some  of  the  captured 
cannon  to  Massachusetts.  This  lawless  proceeding,  intimated 
in  a  previous  letter,  called  forth  an  apology  from  Massachusetts 
to  New  York,  and  an  expression  of  the  hope  that  it  would  be 
overlooked  as  a  mistake  made  "  in  the  hurry  and  confusion  of 
war."  <"' 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  Allen  had 
undertaken  to  impress  upon  the  Colonies  the  importance  of 
attacking  the  British  forces  in  Canada,  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Champlain.  Day  after  day  he  despatched  letters  to  the  Con- 
tinental, as  well  as  the  Provincial  Congresses,  and  their  influ- 
ential members,  in  which  he  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  the 
entei-prise,  which  he  declared  he  could  accomplish  with  fifteen 
hundred  men.  But  the  Colonies  were  not  yet  ripe  for  measures 
of  invasion.  Instead  of  attacking  Canada,  they  doubted 
whether  they  should  hold  Ticonderoga,  which,  in  Allen's 
opinion,  it  would  be  ruinous  to  the  popular  cause  to  abandon. 
His  efforts,  ably  seconded  by  Colonel  Easton,'"'  finally  induced 
the  leading  patriots  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  to  concur 
in  the  propriety  of  retaining  the  forts,  and  some  of  them  snp- 
ported  his  proposed  invasion  of  Canada.  Arnold,  of  course, 
opposed  whatever  Allen  approved.  He  ridiculed  Allen's  pro- 
posed attack  upon  Montreal,  and  continued  his  exertions  to 
send  the  cannon  to  Massachusetts.  The  Congress  of  that  State, 
believing  itself  responsible  for  Arnold's  acts,  were  constantly 
sending  letters  of  excuse  and  apology  for  them  to  the  Conti- 


<")  Force,  p.  693. ..  <">  Force,  p.  715. 

l«i  See  JJaaton's  letter  to  Prov.  Con.  of  Mass.    Force's  Archives,  919. 


'U 


;;"v(-'-  f  -'-.'     ■■■"  ''■; 


64 

ncntal  Congress  and  their  sister  colonies.'"'  But,  while  they 
were  thus  exerting  themselves  to  excuse  him,  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  open  connuunication  for  himself  with  all  the  sources  of 
power.  lie  was  in  frequent  correspondence  with  the  Conti- 
nental, as  well  as  the  Congresses  of  Connecticut  and  New  York, 
and,  in  the  early  part  of  June,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  to 
which  of  these  hodies,  if  to  either,  he  held  himself  responsible. 
The  Congress  of  Massachusetts  was  well  informed  of  Arnold's 
movements,  and,  before  the  end  of  May,  had  become  convinced 
of  the  necessity  of  asserting  an  al)8olute  control  over  his  la""- 
less  imprudence.  To  avoid  doing  him  any  injustice,  they 
determined  to  examine  into  his  conduct,  and,  in  the  meantime, 
not  to  excuse  his  further  rasimess,  by  any  sudden  withdrawal 
of  their  contidence.  With  this  view  they  addressed  him  a 
letter  on  the  27th  of  May,  assuring  him  that  they  would  re- 
ceive no  impressions  to  his  disadvantage,  until  they  had  given 
him  an  opportunity  to  vindicate  his  conduct ; '"'  and,  on  the 
same  day,  despatched  Colonel  Joseph  Henshaw,  to  Hartford, 
with  instructions,  if  Connecticut  had  made  provision  for 
garrisoning  Ticonderoga,  to  proceed  to  that  place,  and  order 
Arnold  to  return  to  Massachusetts,  and  settle  his  accounts  and 
be  discharged.  Of  this  resolution  the  Congress  advised  Arnold 
in  their  letter  of  the  same  date.  Upon  reaching  Hartford, 
Colonel  Henshaw  learned  that  Connecticut  had  already  sent 
Colonel  Hinman,  with  a  well  appointed  force  of  a  thousand 
men,  to  Ticonderoga,  to  take  the  command,  and  hold  the  place 
until  New  York  was  prepared  to  relieve  them.  Colonel  Hen- 
shaw, instead  of  proceeding  to  Ticonderoga  himself,  despatched 
a  letter  by  special  express  to  Arnold,  informing  him  of  Colonel 
Hinman's  departure,  and  that  it  was  the  expectation  of  the 
Massachusetts  Congress  that  he  should  assume  the  command 
'upon  his  arrival,  and,  to  leave  no  question  of  authority  open, 


(s«)SeeLetterofMaa8.  Cong.  toCoQU.    Force,  722.        l"J  Force,  723. 


65 

and  no  excuse  for  Arnold's  attempting  to  retain  the  command, 
the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety,  which  had  originally 
comniissond  Arnold,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Congress, 
on  the  28th  of  May,  wrote  him  that  the  Congress  had  now 
taken  up  the  matter,  and  given  the  necessary  orders  respecting 
the  acquisition  of  these  forts.  As  if  in  anticipation  of  Arnold's 
disobedience,  the  letter  adds,  "  it  becomes  your  duty,  and  is 
our  requirement,  that  you  conform  yourself  to  such  advice 
and  orders  as  you  shall,  from  time  to  time,  receive  from  that 
body." '"' 

Arnold  had  no  intention  of  surrendering  his  authority, 
although  directed  to  do  so,  both  by  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts. As  soon  as  he  received  information  of  Colonel  Hin- 
man's  approach,  he  became  "positive"  that  an  invasior-  of 
Canada  ought  to  be  attempted,  and  that  he  could  easily  take 
Montreal  and  Quebec.  He,  therefore,  proposed  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  that,  "  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  different 
colonies,"  Colonel  Hinman's  regiment  should  form  part  of  an 
army  of  two  thousand  men,  which,  under  his  command,  should 
invade  the  Canadian  Provinces.  He  expressed  the  emphatic 
wish  that  this  array  should  include  "  no  Green  Mountain 
Boys !  "  This  letter  he  despatched  to  Philadelphia  by  one  of 
his  captains,  as  a  special  express. 

Just  at  this  time  the  colonies,  while  opposed  to  the  invasion 
of  Canada,  had  become  fully  awakened  to  the  vital  importance  of 
holding  Ticonderoga  at  all  hazards.  A  full  month  had  elapsed 
after  the  capture  before  they  became  aware  of  the  value,  in  a 
military  sense,  of  the  position,  which  was  clear  to  Allen  before 
its  seizure  was  attempted.  The  feeling  of  the  leading  patriots 
on  the  subject  is  well  expressed  in  a  letter  to  General  Warren, 
written  from  Northampton  by  Joseph  Hawley,  on  the  9th  of 
June.^"'     Speaking  of  Ticonderoga,  he  says :   "  I  am  still  in 

C»8)  Force,  728-727.  r .     .-  ,,.^  i,  («)Force,  944. 


66 

agonies  for  the  greatest  possible  despatcli  to  secure  that  pass." 
He  points  out  tliat  it  is  the  spot  where  the  greatest  mischief  to 
the  colonies  "  may  be  withstood  and  resisted ;  but,  if  that  is 
relinquished  or  taken,  from  us,  desolation  must  come  in  upon 
us  like  a  flood."  "The  design  of  seizing  that  fort  was  glori- 
ously conceived ;  but  to  what  purpose  did  our  forces  light  there, 
if  they  are  now  to  fly  away  ? "  In  these  and  like  emphatic 
terms,  he  urged  that  Ticonderoga  should  be  strengthened  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  day.  Its  importance  was  beginning  to  be 
understood ;  none  knew  it  better  than  Arnold,  and  the  idea  of 
losing  its  command  at  such  a  time  was  resisted  by  all  the  sel- 
fish impulses  of  his  soul. 

The  report  of  Colonel  Henshaw  to  the  Massachusetts  Con- 
gress, early  in  June,  liad  shown  to  that  body  the  propriety  of 
allowing  Connecticut  to  appoint  the  commander-in-chief  of 
Ticonderoga,  and  the  necessity  of  settling  all  questions  of  pre- 
cedence, so  far  as  Arnold  was  concerned.  His  purpose  to  re- 
sist his  own  removal  had  already  been  foreshadowed,  though  it 
was  not  believed  he  would  proceed  to  the  extremity  of  actual 
mutiny.  There  was  evidence  enough,  however,  to  induce  that 
Congress  to  inform  itself  thoroughly  of  the  condition  of  afiairs 
upon  this  frontier.  It  had  already  called  upon  its  Committee 
of  Safety  for  copies  of  Arnold's  commission ;  the  papers  re- 
lating to  his  appointment ;  the  engagements  of  the  Committee 
to  him;  the  authority  they  had  conferred  upon  him,  and 
"  everything  necessary  to  give  the  Congress  a  full  understand- 
ing of  the  relation  Colonel  Arnold  then  stood  in  to  the 
Colony."  ^'"  On  the  12th  of  June,  it  resolved  to  appoint  three 
persons  to  repair  to  Ticonderoga.  examine  into  the  state  of 
affairs  there,  and  act  in  such  a  mannev  as  the  Congress  should 
direct.  The  importance  of  this  action,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Congress,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  committee,  which  con- 

(«)  Force,  716. 


67 

sisted  of  Walter  Spooner,  Jedediah  Foster  and  James  Sullivan, 
were  elected  by  ballot,  and  another  committee  was  appointed 
to  prepare  their  instructions.  These  instructions  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Congress,  and  approved  on  the  13th,  and  given 
to  the  committee  on  the  14th  of  June.  They  were  minute  and 
specific,  and  covered  the  whole  subject.  They  directed  the 
committee  to  retain  Arnold  in  the-  service  only  in  case  he  was 
willing  to  serve  at  one  or  both  of  the  posts,  under  the  com- 
mand of  such  chief  officer  as  Connecticut  might  appoint,  and, 
in  that  event,  they  were  to  continue  him  in  commission,  if  they 
should  judge  it  best  "  for  the  general  service  and  safety,"  after 
having  made  themselves  "  fully  acquainted  with  the  spirit, 
capacity  and  conduct  of  said  Arnold."  They  were  fully  em- 
powered to  discharge  him,  and,  in  that  event,  were  to  direct 
him  to  return  to  the  colony  and  settle  Iiis  accounts.  They  were 
also  directed  to  inform  themselves  thoroughly  of  the  past  trans- 
actions in  this  quarter,  and  with  every  fact  which  would  enable 
them  to  advise  the  Congress  intelligently  ;  and  to  act  for  the 
common  interest  of  the  colonics.*"'* 

These  instructions  invested  the  committee  with  all  the  powers 
which  the  Congress  itself  could  have  exercised,  and  they  were 
limited  in  their  action  only,  by  their  own  discretion.  The 
committee  immediately  departed  upon  their  mission,  the  history 
of  which  is  given  in  their  report  on  the  6tli  of  the  following 
July,  and  the  various  letters  written  by  themselves  and  others 
in  the  intervening  period. 

Upon  reaching  Ticonderoga,  the  committee  found  a  remark- 
able condition  of  afl'airs.  Colonel  Hinman,  with  his  regiment, 
had  arrived ;  but,  instead  of  turning  over  the  command,  Arnold 
had  transferred  it  to  Captain  Herrick,  from  whom.  Colonel 
Hinman's  men  were  obliged  to  take  their  orders,  or  were  not 
sufl'ered  to  pass  to  and  from  the  garrison.     The  committee 

(«i)  See  Proc.  Prov.  Con.  of  Mass.,  June  13, 1775. 


68 

entered  upon  their  investigations,  determined  to  inform  them- 
selves of  all  the  facts  before  taking  any  active  measures.  Their 
report  sheds  light  upon  tlie  capture,  and  confirms  the  correct- 
ness of  Allen's  account.  This  report  ought  to  be  accepted  as 
full  proof  of  the  facts  it  contains,  for  it  comprises  the  con- 
clusions of  an  impartial  committee  of  the  body  under  which 
Arnold  claimed  to  have  acted,  made  upon  a  thorough  examin- 
ation of  the  facts,  within  a  month  after  the  events  transpired. 
The  committee  had  copies  of  Arnold's  commission  and  instruc- 
tions. They  state  that  they  "  informed  themselves,  as  fully  as 
they  were  able,  in  what  manner  he  had  executed  his  said  com- 
mission and  instructions,  and  find  tliat  he  was  with  Colonel 
Allen  and  others  at  the  time  the  fort  was  reduced,  but  do  not 
Jind  that  he  had  any  men  under  his  command  at  the  time  of 
the  reduction  of  these  fortresses  .'"  After  the  lapse  of  nearly 
a  hundred  years,  can  Arnold's  admirers  hope  successfully  to 
contradict  this  quasi  judicial  determination  of  the  question 
which  the  committee  had  ui-i'lortaken  to  set  at  rest  forever !  '''^^ 

Some  of  the  experiences  of  the  committee  it  would  have 
been  indiscreet  further  to  publish  to  the  enemy,  and  they  must 
be  sought  elsewhere  than  in  their  report.  But  the  facts  were 
recorded  at  the  time  by  men  of  unimpeachable  veracity.  The 
report  states  that  Arnold  did  possess  himself  of  tlie  sloop  on 
the  lake,  at  St.  Johns,  and  that  the  committee  found  him 
"  claiming  the  command  of  said  sloop  and  a  schooner,  which 
is  said  to  be  the  property  of  Major  Skene ;  and  also  all  the 
posts  and  fortresses  at  tlie  south  end  of  Lake  Champlain  and 
Lake  George,  although  Colonel  Hinman  was  at  Ticonderoga, 
with  near  a  thousand  men  under  his  command  at  the  several 
posts." 

Arnold  was  at  Crown  Point,  some  twelve  miles  from  Ticon- 
deroga, when  the  committee  arrived ;  and,  without  interfering 


'"JSee  Report  of  this  Committee.    Force,  1696. 


69 

with  aifivirs  at  the  latter  place,  the  committee  passed  on  to  the 
former,  where  the  vessels  were.  Arnold  was  prepared  for 
their  reception,  and  had  sent  a  strong  force  on  board  the 
vessels.  The  committee  informed  him  of  their  commission, 
and,  at  his  request,  gave  him  a  copy  of  their  instructions,  upon 
reading  which,  "  he  seemed  greatly  disconcerted."  His  con- 
clusion was  no  sudden  outburst  of  anger.  It  was  taken  "  after 
some  time  contemplating  upon  the  matter ; "  and  after  the 
committee  had  informed  him,  in  writing,  that  it  was  the  expec- 
tation of  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  that  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  Continental  forces  should  command  the  posts, 
and  that  the  committee  required  him  to  conform  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Congress,  and  deliver  the  command  to  the  proper 
Connecticut  officer.  He  then  peremptorily  refused  to  comply 
with  the  instructions,  and  declared  that  "he  would  not  be 
second  in  command  to  any  person  whomsoever."  It  is  unira 
portant  whether  the  committee  thereupon  discharged  him  from 
the  service,  as  stated  by  Mott,  or  he  resigned  his  commission 
in  the  impudent  letter  of  June  24th,  which  he  sent  to  the  com- 
mittee.*"' 

The  result  was  a  mutiny  !  for  which  Arnold  was  responpi- 
ble  as  the  cliief  instigator.  According  t  Mott's  statement, 
the  committee  desired  the  privilege  of  speaking  with  Arnold's 
men,  but  were  not  permitted  to  do  so.  Arnold  and  a  portion 
of  his  men  retired  on  board  the  vessels,  and  threatened  to  sail 
to  St.  Johns  and  deliver  themselves  up  to  the  enemy.  He  states 
that  Arnold  liad  disbanded  all  the  men  but  those  on  board  the 
vessels,  which  had  drawn  off  into  the  lake  ;  that  the  committee 
left  the  post  in  a  state  of  anarchy;  that  they  were  threatened 
and  ill-treated  while  there,  and  when  they  came  away,  were 
actually  fired  uj)on  with  swivels  and  small  arms  by  Arnold's 
people.  ■  1    .,     _  „.._ 


<•»>  See  App.,  No.  25. 


70 

Mott  thereupon  obtained  permission  from  Colonel  Hinman 
to  proceed  from  Ticonderoga  to  Crown  Point,  and,  if  possible, 
board  the  vessels.  He  was  accompanied  by  Colonel  Sullivan, 
a  member  of  the  committee,  Lieutenant  Halsey,  and  a  Mr. 
Duer,  one  of  the  civil  appointees  of  New  York,  for  the  county 
of  Charlotte,  who  was  very  influential  in  composing  the  diffi- 
culty. They  got  on  board  the  vessels  about  eleven  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  Arnold  separated  the  party,  placing  some  of 
the  members  on  each  vessel,  under  guards  with  fixed  bayonets, 
and  so  kept  them  until  evening,  when  they  were  permitted  to 
return.  They  found  opportunities,  however,  to  converse  with 
the  men,  and  convinced  some  of  them  of  their  error,  who 
declared  that  they  had  been  deceived  by  Arnold.  Colonel 
Sullivan  was  grossly  insulted  while  on  board  the  vessels,  especi- 
ally by  Brown,  one  of  Arnold's  captains.  The  party  returned 
to  Ticonderoga,  whence  Colonel  Hinman  sent  a  detachment 
back  to  Crown  Point,  which  succeeded,  the  next  day,  in  gain- 
ing possession  of  the  vessels, 

On  the  24th,  Arnold  made  a  written  resignation  of  his  com- 
mission, and  the  committee,  with  the  aid  of  Colonel  Hinman, 
John  Brown,  Surgeon  Jonas  Fay,  and  others,  succeeded  in 
restoring  the  order  an.,  dibdpline  of  the  two  posts,  and  in 
arranging  all  the  diftlculties  Vi'ith  the  men.  Their  judicious 
condiict  rescued  the  country  from  a  peril  almost  as  fearful  as 
that  in  which  Arnold  afterwards  involved  it  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson.  It  seems  almost  inconceivable  how  any  officer  of 
the  Kevolutionary  army  could  have  trusted  Arnold  after  this 
conclusive  proof  of  his  utter  selfishness  and  want  of  patriotism. 
Had  he  carried  out  his  threat  of  delivering  up  the  vessels,  and 
with  them  the  command  of  the  lake  to  the  enemy,  tlie  conse- 
quences must  have  been  disastrous,  if  not  fatal,  to  the  cause 
of  popular  liberty.'"^ 

"J  Force,  1591,  06. 


71 

Returning  now  to  Arnold's  own  account  of  affiairs  in  this 
vicinity,  which  has  been  somewhat  anticipated  in  giving  a  con- 
nected relation  of  the  action  of  Massaclmsetts  in  the  premises, 
we  find  his  next  letter  dated  on  the  23d  of  May,  at  Crown 
Point,  and  directed  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety.*"' 
It  is  unimportant,  except  for  its  ungenerous  remark?  upon  the 
failure  of  Allen's  attempt  upon  St.  Johns.  On  the  26th,  he 
advises  the  same  committee  of  his  purpose  to  send  some  of  the 
captured  gims  to  Massachusetts  as  soon  as  possible.  It  is  in 
his  letter  of  May  29th,  to  the  ^lontinental  Congress,  that  he 
undertakes  to  give  the  second  version  of  his  participation  in 
the  command  at  the  time  of  the  capture.*"' 

Arnold  could  never  tell  the  story  of  his  command  twice 
alike.  Three  weeks  before,  he  had  written,  "/  had  agreed 
with  Colonel  Allen  to  issue  further  orders  jointly."  Now  he 
says,  that  near  the  fort,  he  "  met  one  Colonel  Allen,  with  about 
one  hundred  men,  raised  at  the  instance  of  some  gentleinen 
from  Connecticut^  who  agreed  that  we  should  take  a  joint 
command."  He  adds,  "  some  dispute  arising  between  Colonel 
Allen  and  myself,  prevented  my  carrying  my  orders  into  rxecu- 
tion."  The  "  gentlemen  from  Connecticut "  have  recorded 
their  emplu>tic  contradiction  of  the  statements  of  this  letter. 

The  third  and  concluding  version  of  the  joint  command, 
although  nominally  the  work  of  a  third  person,  bears  strong 
evidence  that  it  was  inspired  by  Arnold  himself,  the  confessed 
author  of  the  two  others.  In  Thomas'  "  Oracle  of  Liberty," 
of  May  24th,  an  account  of  the  capture,  given  by  Colon«l 
Easton,  had  been  publislied,  which  assigned  the  command  to 
Allen,  gave  Easton  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  seizure,  but 
made  no  mention  of  Arnold.  It  was  contradicted  in  Holt's 
"  New  York  Journal,"  of  Juno  25th,  by  a  writer  under  the 
pseudonym  of  "  Veritas,"  who  professed  to  have  been  one  of 

<8«)  Force,  698.  Force,  784. 


72 

the  attacking  party,  and  an  eye-witness  of  the  capture.  Accord- 
ing to  "  Veritas,"  the  Connecticut  Committee  wore  joined  by^ 
Easton,  after  their  arrival  upon  the  Grants,  though  it  is  well 
known  that  East  i  came  with  the  committee  from  Pittsfield. 
fle  states  that  Arnold,  having  concerted  a  similar  plan,  "  pro- 
ceeded to  the  party  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Allen," 
and  that  "  when  Colonel  Arnold  made  known  his  commission, 
etc.,  it  was  voted  by  the  officers  present  that  he  should  take  a 
joint  command  with  Colonel  Allen  (Colonel  Easton  not  presum- 
ing to  take  any  command)."  According  to  Veritas,  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  were  very  unwilling  to  cross  the  lake;  but 
"  Colonel  Arnold,  with  much  difficulty,  persuaded  about  forty  " 
of  them  to  do  so  !  When  they  got  over,  these  still  wished  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  but  "Arnold  urged 
to  storm  the  fort  immediately,  declaring  he  would  enter  it  alone 
if  no  man  had  courage  enough  to  follow  him !  "  He  says  that 
Arnold  was  the  first  to  enter  the  fort,  Allen  being  about  five 
yards  behind  him;  that  Arnold  demanded  the  surrender — 
Easton  being  hid  away  in  an  old  barrack,  under  pretence  of 
drying  his  gun.  He  also  relates  that  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  Easton  heartily  kicked  by  Arnold,"  etc. 

Arnold  has  now  exhausted  all  the  sources  from  which  his 
joint  command  could  be  derived,  save  one.  First,  he  has  it 
by  an  agreement  with  Allen  himself;  next,  by  an  agreement 
with  the  Connecticut  Committee,  and,  thirdly,  by  a  vote  of  the 
officers  present.  Had  he  given  a  fourth  account,  he  would 
probably  have  secured  it  from  the  vote  of  the  men,  who  pro- 
posed to  disband  upon  the  suggestion  that  they  were  to  be 
placed  under  his  authority. 

The  remarkable  efliision  of  "  Yeritas  "  is  followed  in  Force's 
Archives'"'  by  three  documents,  which  clearly  evince  the  same 
paternity.     One  of  them,  directed  to  "  The  Printer,"  refers  to 

<")  Force,  1085,  90. 


T8 

an  address  "  from  the  inhabitants  on  Lake  Champlain,  to  the 
v^orthy  Colonel  Arnold,  wlio,  on  the  first  alarm  of  the  ravage 
and  bloodshed  committed  by  the  Ministerial  troops  at  Lexing- 
ton, marched  with  his  company  of  cadets,  from  New  Haven, 
to  the  assistance  of  his  bleeding  countrymen."  It  states  that 
on  the  march  he  concerted  the  plan  for  the  reduction  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point,  and  the  Provincial  Congress  and 
Committee  of  Safety  approving  of  his  plan,  and  confiding  in 
his  judgment  and  fidelity,  commissioned  him  to  reduce  the 
same,  which,  "  by  his  vigilence  and  prudence  he  soon  effected ; " 
that,  without  the  loss  of  one  man,  he  obtained  the  command  of 
an  extent  of  country  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  length, 
which  cost  the  British  nation  two  millions  of  money  and  two 
campaigns,"  etc.,  etc.  The  writer  consoles  himself  for  the  loss 
of  a  Warren,  and  many  other  worthy  men,  by  the  reflection 
that  an  Arnold  is  yet  preserved,  "who,  though  enemies  mis- 
represent his  conduct,  will  yet  be  found  to  merit  the  highest 
approbation." 

The  address  to  Arnold  is  still  more  fulsome  and  adulatory. 
It  purports  to  have  been  signed  by  the  principal  inhabitants  on 
the  lake,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  six  hundred  families  con- 
tiguous thereto,  who,  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  his 
merit,  and  their  weighty  oljligations  to  him,  testify  their  grati- 
tude and  thankfulness  for  his  important  conquests,  his  benevo- 
lence to  the  inhabitants,  his  tenderness  to  the  prisoners,  his 
humane  and  polite  manner,  which  have  shown  a  bright  example 
"  of  that  elevation  and  generosity  of  soul,  which  nothing  less 
than  real  magnaminity  and  innate  virtue  could  inspire." 
After  a  column  of  this  material,  they  conclude  by  expressing 
their  sorrow  for  his  approaching  removal,  and  lamenting  their 
situation  at  the  thoughts  of  losing  him.  The  receipt  of  this 
document  is  acknowledged  by  a  note  from  Arnold,  printed  in 
the  same  connection. 


74 

There  can  be  no  necessity  for  wasting  time  in  the  refutation 
of  these  dccuments  addressed  to,  '•  concerning,  a  man  who  at 
that  date  was  actually  engaged  in  corrupting  his  men,  and 
creating  a  mutiny.  That  Arnold  supervised,  if  he  did  not 
dictate  them,  is  as  certain  as  if  tiiey  appeared  over  his  own 
signature.  Of  course  the  address  is  not  signed  ;  the  name  is 
not  given  o^  one  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  or  six  hur.'^»'ed 
families.  There  were  not  that  number  within  ten  miles  of 
Lake  Champlain,  and  the  few  settlers  along  the  lake  held 
Arnold  in  detestation.  Who  but  Arnold,  or  hit*  valet,  could 
have  given  that  minute  account  of  his  actions,  and  even  his 
thoughts,  all  the  way  from  Cambridge  to  Castleton  ?  Wlio 
but  he,  in  the  assaulting  party,  would  have  written  such  an 
account  ?  Such  trash  is  only  valuable  to  enable  us  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  man — proud,  arrogant,  selfish,  and  so  conceited 
that  he  thought  all  the  world  admired  him.  These  documents 
proclaim  their  authorship,  and  refute  themselves.  They  are 
contradicted  by  every  v/itness,  every  known  fact,  and  every 
circumstance  in  every  important  particular. 

The  advocates  of  Arnold  seek  to  strengthen  their  case  by 
asserting  that  he  remained  here  in  command  after  Allen  had 
withdrawn,  and  his  party  had  returned  to  their  homes.  My 
limits  will  not  allow  me  to  pursue  the  history  into  further  ; 
details.  I  leave  the  suliject  with  this  statement :  Arnold  was 
never  in  command  of  Ticonderoga  during  this  campaign. 
Immediately  after  the  capture,  he  left  Ticonderoga,  wlierc  he 
was  hated  by  the  men,  and  an  annoyance  to  the  officers,  and 
went  to  Crown  Point,  whei'e  Allen  and  Warner  were  content 
that  he  should  exercise  his  brief  authority.  Whatever  he  did, 
was  done  there,  and  there  the  Massachusetts  Committee  found 
him,  when  they  finally  dismissed  him  from  the  service. 

Benedict  Arnold  possessed  lew  of  the  qualities  of  which 
heroes  are  made.     The  native  geuiiosity  of  his  countrymen 


has  induced  them  to  give  him  more  credit  tlian  he  ever  deserved 
for  his  service  in  the  cause  of  popular  liberty,  and  has  led  some 
of  them  to  attempt  excuses  for  liis  crimes.     He  has  even  been 
represented  as  the  victim  of  misfortune,  slowly  driven  to  treason 
by  the  consciousness  of  unrequited  merit,  and  the  conviction 
that  inferior  men  were  preferred  before  him.     The  effort  to 
make  him  the  hero  of  Ticonderoga  is  of  recent  origin,  and 
was  never  undertaken  while   the  witnesses  were   living,  and 
their  evidence  fresh  in  the  public  mind.     The  desire  of  the 
American  people  not  to  deal  unjustly  with  a  great  criminiJ  has 
given  it  some  currency.     The  facts  of  his  life,  when  thorougly 
comprehended,  assign  him  his  true  place  in  history — among 
the  most  dangerous  of  unprincipled  men.     They  disclose  a 
character  in  which  selfishness  was  the  controlling  element.     It 
gave  impulse  to  every  thought  of  his  mind  ;   it  directed  every 
action  of  his  body.     It  was  displayed  in  the  precocity  of  a 
wicked  childhood;   even  then  he  was  wayward  and  vicious, 
seeking  his  keenest  pleasures  in  the  torture  and  destruction  of 
dumb,  defenseless  animals.     As  he  grew  older,  his  corrupted 
tastes  and  evil  habits  destroyed  the  happiness  of  an  excellent 
mother  ;   and  an  attempt  to  nmrder,  while  yet  a  boy,  sufficed 
to  cloud  a  sister's  whole  life  with  sorrow.     Tlie  son  of  an  ob- 
scure sea-faring  man,  he  varied  the  monotony  of  his  youthful 
experiences  by  voyages  to  the  West  Indies,  horse  trading  in 
Canada,  fighting  a  duel,  and  enlistments  in   and   desertions 
from  the  service.     Such  activity  in  evil  courses  indicated  ability, 
if  he  could  be  subjected  to  restraint,  and  friends  were  found 
who  furnished  capital  to  establish  him  in  business,  in  the  hope 
that  he  would  settle  down  and  al)andon  his  wicked  ways.     The 
news  of  Lexington  found  him  a  small  druggist,  and  tlie  captain 
of  a  volunteer  company  in  New  Haven.     Love  of  excitement, 
and  a  passion  for  destructiveness,  more  than  any  motive  of 
patriotism,  led  him  to  join  the  army.    How  he  came  to  this 


76 

frontier  we  have  already  seen.  Here,  he  claimed  that  his  early 
experiences  liad  given  him  a  knowledge  of  naval  affairs ;  and, 
with  the  schooner  which  Herrick  had  captured  from  Major 
Skene,  and  some  smaller  craft,  he  fitted  out  a  little  fleet,  and 
with  it  took  the  British  vessels  on  the  lake.  Of  that  force  he 
was  the  real  commander,  and  of  none  other.  His  teeming 
brain  daily  gave  birth  to  some  rash  and  dangerous  project,  by 
which  his  own  advancement  was  to  be  promoted.  He  divided 
men  into  two  parties, — his  friends,  who  admired  his  greatness, 
and  his  enemies,  who  were  envious  of  his  fame,  and  were  con- 
stantly engaged  in  efforts  to  undermine  and  destroy  him.  He 
secured  his  commission,  confident  that  it  would  give  him  the 
chief  command  in  this  quarter,  and  his  failure  to  secure  it  filled 
him  with  angry  disappointment.  He  was  unpopular  with  the 
soldiers,  feared  by  his  inferiors,  despised  by  all.  We  have  seen 
how  his  rashness  involved  the  colonies  in  serious  difficulties,  and 
how  prudently  Massachusetts  undertook  to  control  him,  and 
make  him  useful  to  the  country,  while  he  was  impressing  all 
who  knew  him  with  what  Captain  Mott  calls  "  his  extraordinary 
ill  conduct."  Impatient  under  investigation,  maddened  tliat 
his  authority  should  be  questioned,  unable  to  dispose  of  Colonel 
Hinman,  he  was  ready,  when  the  Massachusetts  Committee 
reached  Ticondeioga,  to  scout  their  authority  and  defy  their 
power.  When  peremptorily  ordered  to  turn  over  his  command, 
this  model  patriot  and  military  leader,  with  such  of  his  men  as 
he  could  control,  broke  into  open  mutiny,  retired  on  board  the 
vessels,  and  tlu'eatened  to  desert  and  deliver  them  up  to  the 
enemy.  He  even  attempted  the  lives  of  the  committee,  after 
he  had  subjected  them  to  threats  and  imprisonment.  Finally, 
having  quarrelled  with  his  brother  ofiicers,  abandoned  by  his 
soldiers,  unable  longer  to  resist  the  committee,  powerless  for 
further  evil,  in  disgrace  with  everybody,  he  flung  up  his  com- 
mission and  vanished  from  the  scene.     The  war  presented  no 


ft 

parallel  instance  of  treasonable  insnbordination.  Was  it 
strange  that  Colonel  Brown,  in  the  next  campaign,  and  years 
before  his  greater  crime,  posted  him  as  a  robber  of  prisoners, 
who  surrendered  on  the  faitli  of  liis  promises ;  a  murderer  of 
defenseless  non-combatants,  and  a  traitor  ready  made  when  his 
price  was  tendered  !  that  he  should  marry  a  Tory  heiress, 
and  enter  upon  a  life  of  extravagant  debauchery,  which  could 
only  be  supported  by  fraud  and  peculation  upon  the  public 
treasury ;  that  he  was  convicted  by  a  court  martial,  and  repri- 
manded by  Washington  !  that  his  treason  culminated  at  the 
first  favorable  opportunity ;  and,  finally,  that  his  murderous 
ravages  in  his  native  and  other  States,  should  have  shown  that 
all  the  accidents  of  all  the  wars  on  this  continent  never  brought 
to  the  surface  of  public  life  any  man  so  thoroughly  depraved 
as  he  whose  name  has  become  a  synonym  for  the  highest  trea- 
son !  True,  he  fought  well  at  Stillwater,  but  at  that  moment 
he  was  devising  plans  for  revenge  upon  his  associates  for  fancied 
slights,  and  plotting  new  schemes  to  relieve  himself  from  the 
debts  in  which  his  courses  had  involved  him,  A  few  acts  of 
bravery,  a  few  spasms  c*'  patriotism,  scattered  like  fitful  gleams 
through  the  darlcness  of  a  wiclced  life,  instead  of  excusing  his 
treachery,  only  serve  to  make  it  more  conspicuous.  It  is  time 
to  have  done  with  apologies  for  the  worst  man  ever  born  on 
American  soil ;  with  efibrts  to  excite  the  world's  admiration 
for  a  man  who  possibly  might  have  been  a  patriot,  if  he  had 
not  been  a  traitor.  It  is  time  to  strip  from  his  deformity  the 
mantle  which  a  mistaken  charity  has  thrown  over  it.  In  the 
world's  history  there  have  been  two  conspicuous  traitors.  But 
there  is  a  choice  between  them,  and  one  was  the  better  man, — 
for  he  repented  of  his  treason,  cried  out  that  he  luid  slied 
innocent  blood,  threw  down  his  thii'ty  pieces,  and  went  and 
hanged  himself  I  The  other  wasted  his  price  upon  his  vices, 
was  pensioned  by  his  pui'chasers,  and  went  detested  and  unre- 


•78 

pentant  to  his  foreign  grave  !  lie  was  a  bad  boy  and  a  worse 
man,  depraved  and  unprincipled  from  his  cradle  to  his  latest 
day.  His  claims  to  the  respect  of  true  men  are  just  as  good, 
when  he  is  selling  his  (iountry  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  as 
when  he  is  writing  false  letters  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Cham- 
plaiu. 

It  is  neither  my  desire  nor  my  purpose  to  defend  Ethan 
Allen.  I  am  not  here  to  set  forth  his  virtues,  or  apologise  for 
his  faults.  That  there  were  grave  defects  in  his  character  is 
neither  denied  nor  sought  to  be  con(!ealed.  His  generous, 
impulsive  nature;  his  complete  self-confidence,  which  led  him  to 
believe  himself  equal  to  any  enterprise ;  his  intense  hatred  for 
tyraimy  and  oppression  in  all  their  forms,  were  qualities  which 
do  not  exist  in  man,  except  in  connection  with  strong  passions, 
and  other  objectionable  elements.  He  belonged  to  a  class  who 
are  most  popular  with  those  who  know  them  best,  and  are 
usually  misjudged  by  those  who  know  little  of  them.  For  he 
was  careless  of  the  opinions  of  others,  and  seemed  to  delight 
in  misleading  them  in  their  judgment  of  liimself.  He  despised 
the  acts  by  which  popularity  is  courted ;  and  those  who  count 
him  a  demagogue  may  be  defied  to  point  to  a  single  word  he 
ever  uttered,  a  single  act  he  ever  performed,  merely  to  gain  the 
popular  applause.  He  was  of  large  stature  and  strong  muscle, 
capable  of  great  exertion  and  endurance,  and  he  feared  nothing 
under  the  sun.  His  education  was  better  than  that  of  the 
average  of  men  in  those  days,  when  but  little  time  could  be 
spared  for  instruction,  in  the  severe  and  universal  struggle  for 
existence.  With  proper  training,  he  would  have  been  capable 
of  intellectual  eminence,  for  he  has  left  many  evidences  that 
he  was  able  to  seize  and  present  effectually  the  points  in  an 
argument.  Falsehood  and  tergiversation  were  so  offensive  to 
him,  that  he  would  not  tolerate  them  even  to  promote  his  own 


79 

inter.  st9,  and  ho  dotosted  injustice  of  every  description  with  all 
the  eueri^y  of  his  intense  organization.  Love  of  liberty  was 
the  controlling  passion  of  his  soul,  inspiring  every  inipulse, 
directing  every  action.  In  the  presence  of  sorrow,  he  was 
gentle  as  a  woman,  and  among  the  many  ti'aditions  concerning 
him  which  have  been  preserved,  those  are  most  numerous  which 
show  his  effective  service  in  behalf  of  the  poor,  the  unfortunate 
and  the  distressed.  If  his  faults  were  grave,  who  has  the  right 
to  say  that  they  were  not  counterbalanced  by  his  virtues  ? 

But  it  is  Allen's  conduct  during  the  campaign  of  1775  that 
we  are  now  considering,  and  in  that,  wliile  there  is  mucli  to 
praise,  there  is  little  to  censure.  Called  out  for  a  special  pur- 
pose, on  a  moment's  warning,  with  no  preparation  for  a  long 
service,  when  their  work  was  done,  Allen  and  his  men  expected 
to  return  to  their  homes.  They  renuiincd  here,  performing  all 
their  duties  as  long  as  they  were  needed,  and  until  they  were 
properly  relieved.  Allen  constantly  reported  to  his  superiors, 
and  faithfully  obeyed  their  orders.  When  Colonel  Ilinman 
reached  Ticonderoga  with  his  regiment,  he  was  received  cordi- 
ally by  Allen,  who  promptly  turned  over  his  conunand.  Con- 
vinced that  the  Revolution  had  need  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  Allen  and  Warner  then  hurried  to  Philadelphia,  and 
asked  from  the  Continental  Congress  authority  to  form  them 
into  a  regiment.  "  I  ask  the  privilege,'-  Allen  had  already 
written,  "  of  raising  a  small  regiment  of  Rangers.  It  is,  truly, 
the  first  favor  I  ever  asked  of  the  government ;  if  it  be  granted, 
I  will  zealously  endeavor  to  conduct  myself  for  the  best  good 
of  my  country."  In  the  presence  of  that  august  body,  face  to 
face  with  his  old  enemy,  Duane,  he  told  the  story  of  Ticon- 
deroga, and  again  presented  his  petition.  The  leader  of  a 
people  claimed  to  be  in  rebellion,  opened  the  doors  of  the  Con- 
gress by  his  manly  appeal.  That  body  resolved  to  pay  the  Ver- 
monters  for  theu*  service  here,  and  granted  authority  to  raise 


80 

a  regiment,  conditioned  upon  the  approval  of  New  York.  With 
the  resolution  in  his  hands,  authenticated  by  die  signature  of 
Jol^n  Hancock,  he  returned  to  New  York  city,  where  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  was  in  session.  There,  was  exhibited  a  scene 
which  illustrates  the  patriotism  of  the  time.  To  that  Congress, 
whose  authority  he  had  so  many  times  defied,  and  to  whose 
constituents  he  had  applied  the  "  beech  seal,"  he  proposed  to 
bury  the  old  bitter  feud  beneath  the  wave  of  liberty  then 
sweeping  over  the  land.  In  vain  the  speculators  in  Yermont 
lands,  and  their  agents,  protested.  In  vain  they  exclaimed 
that  ho  was  "  a  felon,  an  outlaw  with  a  price  upon  his  head, 
and  that  it  would  disgrace  the  Congress  to  admit  him  within 
their  doors !  "  "I  move  that  Ethan  Allen  be  permitted  to 
have  an  audience  at  this  board !  "  excdaims  a  member.  "  I 
second  the  motion  ! "  shouts  Smith,  of  Duchess,  and  by  a  vote 
of  two  to  one,  it  was  (says  the  record)  "  ordered  that  Ethan 
Allen  be  admitted."  And  the  record  continues,  "  Seth  Warner 
was  admitted  at  the  same  time."  *''^'  What  Allen  daid,  we  do 
not  know ;  but  we  do  kr  jw  that  the  envoys  from  the  moun- 
tains were  heard,  and  that,  at  the  same  setting,  the  Congress, 
which  a  year  before  liad  proclaimed  Allen  a  traitor,  and  oft'ered 
a  reward  to  any  who  would  hunt  him  down,  confirmed  the 
order  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  sent  Allen  to  General 
Schuyler,  with  authority  to  raise  the  regiment,  which  should 
elect  its  own  officers,  and  with  directions  which  secured  Schuy- 
ler's co-operation.  It  did  no  great  harm  that  "  the  County  of 
Albany  "  (the  headquarters  of  the  speculators)  "  and  Mr.  John 
DeLancey  dissented  to  the  above  order  and  resolve." 

The  regiment  was  raised.  Then  occurred  another  event  which 
brought  out  the  qualities  o^  Allen's  character.  Remember, 
he  liad  been  the  military  leader  of  the  Grants  from  the  begin- 
ning ;  his  energy  had  overcome  all  the  obstacles,  and  he  had 

IMI  Force,  1838. 


81 

procured  authority  to  raise  tlie  regiment — he  should  have  been 
its  colonel.  Now,  when  the  election  of  officers  '•as  made,  the 
older  settlers,  distrusting  his  bold  impetuosity,  ignored  his 
claims,  and  chose  the  more  cautious  Warner  in  his  place.  It 
was  a  cold  and  cruel  neglect,  for  which  there  was  no  excuse- 
He  might  well  be  pardoned  for  having  expressed  his  natural  in- 
dignation. Did  he  resent  the  neglect,  and,  like  Arnold,  threaten 
desertion  to  the  enemy  ?  No !  He  scarcely  uttered  a  word  of 
complaint.  He  knew  there  was  a  place  for  him  in  the  Revo- 
lution— if  not  as  an  officer,  then  as  a  private.  "  I  hope  the 
Congress  will  remember  me,"  he  wrote,  "  for  I  desire  to  remain 
in  the  service,"  and  with  all  the  energy  of  \ls  soul  he  went 
into  the  contest.  He  fought  his  country's  battles,  and  in  her 
behalf  endured,  without  a  murmur,  long  years  of  insult  and 
imprisonment  His  sacrifices  and  suflerings  every  Vermonter 
knows.  It  docs  not  surprise  them  that,  three  years  later,  the 
Father  of  his  Country  said  of  him :  "  His  firmness  and  forti- 
tude seem  to  have  placed  him  out  of  the  reach  of  misfortune. 
There  is  something  about  liim  that  commands  oir  admiration." 
There  was  a  place  for  him  in  the  Revolution — there  is  a  place 
for  him  in  history.  He  needs  no  monument  to  perpetuate  his 
fame.  As  the  wheels  of  time  roll  on,  a  grateful  country  for- 
gets his  faults,  and  remembers  him  for  his  daring  courage,  his 
generous  heart,  his  fidelity  to  his  country,  and  his  unselfish 
devotion  to  the  State  he  loved.  Compare  such  a  man  with 
Benedict  Arnold  !  The  soldier  of  freedom  with  the  soldier  of 
fortune  !  Heniules  to  Cucus !  Hyperion  to  a  Satyr !  "  A  beast, 
that  wants  discourse  of  reason,"  knows  which  is  the  hero  and 
which  the  fraud. 

I  am  aware  that  criticisms  have  been  made  upon  the 
language  in  which  Allen  asserts  that  the  demand  for  surrender 
was  made.  For  exnniple,  it  is  said  tl^at  he  could  not  have  made 
the  refeconce  to  the  Continental  Congress,  because  that  body 

6  _.__„:'     _.____... ,,._.. 


82 

was  not  in  session  until  several  hours  after  the  surrender. 
These  are  too  puerile  to  deserve  notice.  They  never  raised  a 
doubt  that  the  language  was  used,  save  in  the  minds  of  the  very 
limited  number  of  persons  no  better  informed  than  the  authors 
of  these  suggestions. 

The  subsequent  history  of  Ticonderoga  has  many  points  of 
interest.  The  command  of  Schuyler;  the  return  here,  in  1776, 
of  the  remnants  of  Montgomery's  shattered  army,  saved  by  the 
energy  of  the  Vermonters,  turning  out  in  answer  to  Wooster^s 
call ;  the  coming  of  Gates, — his  summons  to  the  Green  Moun 
tain  militia,  who  were  publicly  thanked  by  him  for  defending 
yonder  fort  from  capture ;  their  gathering  here  again  in  1777, 
under  Warner  and  St.  Clair, — the  retreat  of  the  latter,  the 
stubborn,  gallant  fight  at  Hubbardton ;  Bennington  and  Sara- 
toga; the  ravages  of  the  British  in  1778 — their  invasion  in 
1780,  when  they  scoured  the  country  as  far  down  as  Stillwater  ; 
the  negotiations  with  Canada,  in  1781,  which  have  given  so 
much  distress  to  the  enemies  of  Vermont ;  the  appearance 
of  the  British  here  in  force,  in  October  of  that  year,  when  the 
Vermonters  "  put  the  hook  in  their  nose,  and  turned  thera 
back  by  the  way  whence  they  came,"  with  others,  enough  to 
fill  a  volume,  must  be  wholly  omitted.  Many  of  thera  have 
been  recorded  in  that  best  "  Early  Histories,"  written  by 
your  venerable  ex-President.  They  are  incidents  over  which 
the  children  of  Vermont  will  linger  with  interest  through  all 
coming  time. 

I  have,  thus,  once  more  presented  the  history  of  the  capture 
of  Ticonderoga.  I  think  I  have  referred  to  all  the  material 
evidence  which  bears  upon  the  origin  of  the  expedition,  or  the 
question  of  command.  Right  well  I  know  that  I  have  repeated 
an  ''  oft  told  tale."     The  assaults  of  Allen's  maligners ;  their 


83 

claims  in  behalf  of  Arnold  have  been  often  exposed  and  refuted. 
But  the  leaven  of  old  prejudices  against  Vermont  and  her  early- 
settlers  is  still  active.  There  are  those  who,  even  now,  cannot 
be  comforted  at  the  thought,  that  in  spite  of  all  their  enemies, 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  wrought  out  their  independence, — 
who  believe  that  a  false  charge  acquires  strength  by  repetition. 
There  are  few  false  charges  in  history  which  have  been  reiter- 
ated with  such  blind  malice,  such  persistence  in  error,  as  those 
against  Allen  and  the  Vermonters.  When  once  set  in  motion, 
the  vitality  of  a  falsehood  in  history  is  something  surprising. 
You  may  refute  it,  but  it  will  not  stay  refuted.  You  may  beat 
it  down  to-day,  to-morrow  it  is  up  again,  as  vigorous  as  ever. 
Nay !  you  may  slay  it  as  dead  as  the  creature  of  a  prehistoric 
age,  smitten  to  its  brain  center  by  a  thunderbolt  of  the  Almighty, 
— buried  below  the  rocks  of  the  Laurentian  epoch,  and  turned 
to  stone  by  the  chemistry  of  cosmic  ages  ;  and  there  shall  be 
some  "  man  with  the  muck  rake,"  some  delver  in  the  ruins  of 
the  past,  who  will  j'ob  the  tomb  of  its  skeleton,  and  bring  it  forth 
into  the  light  of  day ;  and,  while  its  shape  ofi'ends  the  sight  of  all 
others,  to  him  it  will  seem  an  angelic  form,  of  ambrosial  fragrance 
and  seraphic  beauty  !  Thus  has  it  been  with  the  falsehoods 
against  Allen  and  his  men.  Three  times  they  liave  been  refuted 
by  members  of  this  society.  The  origin  of  the  expedition  has 
been  demonstrated  and  minutely  described  by  an  accomplished 
scliolar  of  the  State  whence  it  came ;  *"*'  the  historians  of  our 
country,  some  of  them  honored  sons  of  New  York,  are  agreed 
in  their  conclusions ;  and  yet  these  writers  of  the  new  school 
of  history,  without  facts,  go  on  repeating  their  libols  as  though 
they  were  made  stronger  by  repetition.  There  was  a  time 
when  they  might  have  been  excused  by  the  superficial  kr  ;)w- 
ledge  aad  bitter  prejudices  of  their  authors.  But  not  now. 
Those,  who  now  repeat  them,  know  them  to  be  untrue.     How- 

<«»>App.26. 


84 

ever  slight  their  general  knowledge  of  American  history,  they 
must  be  presumed  to  have  read  the  evidence  which  has  been 
republished  in  answer  to  their  charges;  their  ignorance  of  which, 
in  the  preparation  of  .such  charges,  was  wholly  inexcusable. 
The  repetition  of  such  statements,  after  the  evidence  has  been 
produced,  and  they  have  been  pointed  to  its  depositories,  there- 
fore, can  have  neither  excuse  nor  apology.  But  they  are  re- 
peated in  the  journals,  in  magazine  articles,  in  addresses, 
occasional  speeches, — in  every  form  which  may  attract  the 
public  attention.  Even  a  recent  guide  book  oft'ers  to  the 
traveler  historical  information  like  this:  That  the  action  of  the 
Connecticut  Comnittee  was  inspired  by  the  letter  of  John 
Brown,  from  Canada ;  that  the  command  was  exercised,  and 
the  captm'e  made  by  Arnold  and  Allen, — placing  the  traitor 
first ;  that  Romans  was  with  the  party  at  Castleton,  when 
Mott's  careful  record  shows  that  "  he  left  at  Bennington,  and 
joined  no  more ; "  that  "  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which 
Arnold  and  Allen  were  to  hold  sorxthing  like  a  joint  com- 
mand." In  this  book,  the  story  of  "  Veritas,"  "  six  hundred 
families  included,"  is  rehashed  and  presented  as  a  delicious 
morsel  of  history ;  and,  while  Arnold  is  portrayed  as  the  "  re- 
storer of  harmony," — the  Bayard  without  reproacli, — Allen 
is  declared  to  be  "  a  sort  of  Eobin  Ho.od,"  who  "  played  the 
part  of  a  swaggering  brigand." 

But  the  gem  of  this  volume,  is  the  modest  conclusion  of  its 
author,  tha,t  he  leaves  '''■Allen  less  a  hero  than  hefoim^  him!'''' 
Poor,  indeed,  is  the  record  which  can  be  dimmed  or  diminished 
by  such  an  assailant !  And  these  statements  are  to  be  accepted 
as  facts  in  "  the  new  era,"  upon  which,  according  to  tliis 
ri  verend  defamer,  "  tlie  study  of  American  histc  /  has  now 
entered."  For  the  welfare  of  his  flock,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
he  is  a  safer  guide  in  the  "  narrow  way "  than  he  is  in  the 
history  of  Ticonderoga. 


85 

In  view  of  all  the  facts,  it  may  not  have  been  an  unprofitable 
use  of  our  time  to  have  spent  an  hour,  here,  upon  the  ground 
and  theatre  of  these  important  events,  in  vindicating  the  truth 
of  a  faraihar  history.  Here  was  the  first  substantial  triumph 
in  arms  of  American  liberty, — the  step  in  advance  which  made 
retreat  dishonorable,  reconciliation  impracticable.  Here  was 
the  first  victory,  which  strengthened  the  brave  and  confirmed 
the  wavering.  After  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  May,  1775, 
there  was  no  alternative  between  thirteen  conquered  colonies 
and  an  independent  nation.  This  triumph  was  won  by  our 
forefathers.  It  is  our  duty  to  see  that  their  honors  are  not 
stolen  away.  I  have  no  hope  that  I  have  presented  this  subject 
in  any  clearer  light  than  those  who  have  preceded  me.  But 
none  of  them  have  attempted  to  bring  all  the  ^acts  together, 
and  present  the  entire  history  in  detail,  in  a  connected  form. 
This  work  I  have  endeavored  to  do.  I  believe  I  have  referred 
to  all  the  material  evidence,  or  pointed  out  the  places  where 
it  may  be  found.  If  any  of  it  is  new,  it  will  delight  me  to 
have  made  such  a  contribution  to  the  treasury  of  history. 
As  I  understand  history,  its  chief  value  consists  in  pointing  out 
the  repositories  of  the  facts  of  which  it  is  made,  that  those  who 
choose  may  examine  them  for  themselves.  On  such  facts,  so 
far  as  our  present  subject  is  concerned,  Vermont  may  trust  her 
cause  to  the  impartial  judgment  of  the  world.  Let  diligent 
students  of  om'  revolutionary  history, — who  have  no  prejudices 
to  satisfy,  no  preconceived  opinions  to  support,  no  passions  to 
blind  them,  and  no  theories  to  maintain, — answer  tlie  question 
which  I  proposed,  at  the  commencement  of  this  address,  for 
themselves.  Let  them  say  whether  it  must  not  be  answered 
now,  as  Gverj  honest  historian  has  answered  it  for  ninety-seven 
years  ?  "  Ticonderoga  was  captured  by  the  Green  Mountain 
BoySf  led  hy  Ethan  Allen  /"  :   ^  -        .„,._-.-..    ,- 


86 

I  hoped,  on  this  occasion,  to  have  briefly  referred  to  that 
single  other  charge  which  the  assailants  of  Vermont  have 
attempted  to  establish  upon  the  facts  of  her  early  record, — 
that  of  infidelity  to  the  cause  of  the  country,  in  the  negotiations 
with  Haldimand,  in  1780-81.  This  charge  was  made  at  the 
time,  and  refuted,  somewhat  contemptuously  by  those  whose 
integrity  in  this  transaction  was  questioned ;  and  it  has  been 
refuted  as  often  as  it  has  been  renewed.  There  is  a  consider- 
able amount  of  evidence  on  this  subject,  which  has  not  recently 
been  roade  public.  In  connection  with  facts  already  known, 
it  not  only  excludes  from  that  transaction  any  taint  of  suspicion, 
but  shows  it  to  have  been  a  work  of  statesmanship,  which  not 
only  protected  Vermont  in  the  most  ciitical  period  of  her  ex- 
istence, when  threatened  by  powerful  invasions,  and  by  dangers 
■which  might  have  overwhelmed  any  State, — every  soldier  and 
gun  of  the  national  forces  were  withdrawn  from  her  territory, 
and  she  was  left  to  defend  herself  by  her  own  resources, — but 
which  powerfully  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  national 
cause.  Had  time  permitted,  I  should  have  laid  some  of  this 
©videnc  before  you.  But  it  matters  little ;  Vermont  can  afibrd 
to  wait.  T.'  3  evidence  will  be  preserved,  and,  if  I  do  r^.,  dome 
other  Vermonter  will  make  it  public.  And  then  the  world 
will  know  that  no  State  in  the  Unioi  had  such  a  struggle  for 
existence  as  ours  ;  and  that,  in  the  whole  twenty  years  of  her 
stormy  battle  for  life,  there  is  no  important  fact  or  incident  to 
be  regretted  by  lier  children.  Her  early  history  will  stand,  in 
completeness  and  in  detail,  more  interesting,  dramatic  and 
creditable  to  her  pioneers,  than  that  of  any  of  her  sisters.  She 
entered  upon  her  twenty  years  war,  defended  by  a  few  courage- 
ous men.  She  carried  it  on  against  the  forces  of  nature,  sur- 
rounded by  enemies,  threatening  her  on  every  side.  But  her 
enemies  never  invaded  her  soil,  unless  to  their  own  destruction. 


87 

She  came  out  of  the  contest,  not  only  the  victor,  but  respected 
by  all  her  sister  States.  With  her  honor  untarnished,  she  took 
her  seat  as  an  equal  at  the  National  council  board,  where  her 
voice  has  ever  since  been  powerful  on  the  side  of  freedom  and 
justice ;  where  it  has  never  been  raised  in  behalf  of  oppression 
or  wrong.  Her  sons  would  be  recreant  descendants  of  her  early 
soldiers  and  statesmen,  if  they  did  not  guard  her  honor  as  their 
most  precious  inheritance. 

Nor  should  the  acts  or  words  of  individuals  bo  charged 
against  any  of  her  sister  States.  Vermont  has  no  controversy 
with  New  York — she  never  had.  On  the  contrary,  she  is 
proud  of  the  Empire  State,  and  rejoices  in  her  rapid  march 
toward  the  commercial  supremacy  of  the  world.  To  suppose 
that  the  State  of  New  York  ever  sought  to  swallow  up  Ver- 
mont, is  to  misunderstand  the  facts  of  history.  There  were 
"  Rings,"  a  hundred  years  ago,  as  powerful  and  selfish  as  those 
of  to-day.  v  ^ne  of  them,  composing  high  State  oflBcials,  land 
jobbers  and  speculators,  before  the  Revolution,  for  a  time  con- 
trolled the  legislative  and  executive  powers  of  that  State,  as 
eflfectively  as  others  have  controlled  them  at  a  recent  period. 
They  parcelled  out  the  favors  of  royalty,  and  the  lands  of 
honest  owners,  to  their  favorites,  but  they  never  had  the  support 
or  sympathy  of  the  people  of  New  York.  The  proof  meets 
us  at  every  turn.  They  proclaimed  rewards,  large  and  tempt- 
ing in  those  days,  for  the  capture  of  Ethan  Allen.  He  went 
fearlessly  to  Albany,  and  no  man  molested  him.  They  never 
could  enforce  their  disgraceful  laws,  and  never  tried  to  enforce 
them.  Their  processes  failed  of  service,  for  the  "  power  of  the 
county"  would  never  come  forth  at  their  call.  Their  few 
attempts  at  arrest  more  nearly  resembled  kidnapping  expe- 
ditions, than  the  ordinary  execution  of  legal  warrants.  The 
instincts  of  a  people  are  almost  always  on  the  side  of  justice. 
Those  of  the  people  of  New  York  were  alwpys  with  the  Ver- 


88 

rnonterB.  Later,  her  Btatesnien  took  np  the  eontest  in  favor  of 
Vermont,  and  stayed  the  hands  of  the  specuhitors.  Her  liis- 
torians  have  faitlifiilly  re(!orded  the  heroism  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  There  is  no  enmity  between  the  two  peoples, 
no  jealousy  between  the  two  States.  Nowhere  have  the  false 
eharges  of  the  speculators  of  1770,  and  the  calumnies  of  a  few 
of  their  des(;endants  a  century  later,  been  visited  with  severer 
condemnation  than  among  the  intelligent  historians,  the  dis- 
tinguished statesmen,  and  the  honest  people  of  that  great  State, 
upon  whose  soil  you  have  met  to-day. 

Fellow  Citizens,  Friends,  Brother  Vermonters !  my  work, 
here,  is  done.  Would  that  it  were  better  done ;  but,  such  as 
it  is,  I  lay  it  on  the  altar  of  our  history.  It  has,  indeed,  been 
a  pleasant  task  for  me.  A  Vermonter  never  knows  how  well 
he  loves  the  Mountain  State,  imtil  he  has  wandered  beyond  her 
borders,  and  lived  among  other  surroundings.  Then,  every 
acre  of  her  rugged  soil,  every  leaf  of  her  history,  beconjcs  dear 
to  him.  Then,  he  is  as  prompt  in  her  defense  against  all 
assailants,  as  any  true-hearted  son  to  defend  a  beloved  mother. 
I  could  not  be  otherwise  than  loyal  to  her  !  In  the  shadow 
of  yonder  mountains,  four  generations  of  my  family  have 
lived.  There  my  children  were  born,  and  there  I  hope  to 
rest,  when  the  toils  of  this  life  are  closed  forever.  Glorious 
Vermont !  with  thy  life-giving  air,  thy  grand  old  moun- 
tains, fertile  valleys,  laugliing  brooks,  and  lakes  of  silver  I 
There  is  no  fact  of  thy  history  which  is  not  precious  in  the 
hearts  of  they  children, — no  blot  on  thy  fair  fame  for  them  to 
remove  !  Grander  and  more  glorious  than  the  wealth  of 
CrfjGBUS,  or  the  power  of  the  Caesars,  is  the  heritage  of  thy 
people !  What  shall  outvalue  it  ?  for  what  earthly  treasure 
shall  it  be  exchanged  ?  Which  of  its  elements  shall  be  parted 
with,  or  caet  aside  ?      Behold,  Vermonters,  the  wealth  ol  your 


89     '^ 

posscBsions !  The  exjimplo  and  influence  of  thoBC  early  pioneers ; 
a  long  line  of  honored  stateflmcn,  unbroken  from  the  days  of 
the  "Grand  Committee"  to  the  present  hour;  the  memories 
of  Ticonderoga,  Ilubbardton  and  Bennington ;  your  soldiers, 
first  at  every  call,  in  the  front  on  every  field ;  rolling  back  the 
tide  of  invasion  at  Saratoga  and  Plattsburgh, — charging  the 
heights  of  Chepulte])ec,  unlocking  the  gates  of  victory  at 
Gettysburg,  gaim'ng  a  lost  battle  at  Cedar  Creek,  and  aiding  in 
the  final  crush  of  Rebellion  on  the  banks  of  the  Appomattox ; 
your  judiciary,  never  tarnished  by  the  breath  of  suspicion  ; 
your  legislature,  incorrujjtiblo  for  an  Inmdred  years ;  your 
muni(;ipal  organizations,  town,  city  and  county,  never  yet  dis- 
honored by  a  "  ring ;"  your  colleges  and  common  schools,  free 
to  all,  of  every  class,  condition  or  color;  your  churches  in 
every  hamlet ;  your  benevolent  institutions,  covering  the  poor 
at  home,  and  stretching  forth  their  protecting  arms  to  the 
farthest  islands  of  the  sea;  your  thousand  homes  of  comfort 
and  plenty,  cheered  by  affection  and  warmed  by  love;  a  pru- 
dent, plain  and  vigorous  race  of  men  ;  well  trained,  happy 
children ;  glorious,  true  hearted  women.  A  better  government, 
a  happier  people,  will  be  sought  in  vain,  within  the  limits  of 
enlightened  civilization.  Such,  Vermonters,  is  your  inheri- 
tance, earned  by  the  sacrifices  and  the  blood  of  the  men  we 
honor  to-day.  For  it  all, — for  her  past  history  and  present 
example ;  for  all  that  Vermont  has  been,  and  is,  and  promises 
to  be,  you  arc  largely  their  debtors.  Teach,  then,  your  chil- 
dren to  keep  their  memories  always  green;  and  from  the 
depths  of  the  reverent,  grateful  hearts  of  every  son  and 
daughter  of  the  State  we  love,  let  my  closing  prayer  ascend 
to  Heaven :    "  Vermont !  God  bless  her !     God  bless  her  !  " 


PPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 

NUMBER  I.    Page  14. 

The  reference,  in  the  text,  to  Montcalm's  exertions  for  the  protection  of  the 
English,  after  the  surrender  of  Fort  William  Henry,  seems  to  be  sustained  by  a 
fair  balance  of  cotemporary  evidence ;  and  is  confirmed  by  what  is  learned  from  other 
sources,  of  the  character  of  the  French  commander.  But  it  cannot  be  denied,  that 
a  portion  of  the  evidence  bears  heavily  against  Montcalm,  and  indicates  that  he 
made  little  exertion  to  prevent  the  butchery.  A  specimen  of  this  description  of 
proof  may  be  found  in  the  graphic  account  of  the  massacre  given  by  Captain 
Carver,  who  was  one  of  the  few  inmates  of  the  fort  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
escape.  He  says :  "  That  in  consideration  of  the  gallant  defense  the  garrison  had 
made,  they  were  permitted  to  march  out  with  all  the  honors  of  war ;  to  be  allowed 
covered  wagons  to  transport  their  baggage  to  Fort  Edward,  and  a  guard  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  fury  of  the  savages."  But  he  declares,  that  although  suffered 
to  retain  their  arms,  they  were  deprived  of  every  round  ot  ammunition,  and  when 
the  prisoners  were  drawn  out,  they  found  the  column  completely  surrounded  by 
the  savages.  They  began  by  stripping  the  prisoners  of  their  clothing,  and 
slaughtering  the  sielc  and  wounded.  The  war  whoop  was  finally  given,  and  the 
Indians  began  to  murder  those  nearest  to  them,  without  distinction.  Men,  women 
and  children  were  despatched  in  the  most  wanton  and  cruel  manner,  and  immedi- 
ately scalped.  Many  of  the  savages  dranli  the  blood  of  their  victims,  as  it  flowed 
from  their  wounds. 

"  We  now,"  he  continues,  "  perceived,  though  too  late  to  avail  ns,  that  we 
were  to  expect  no  relief  from  the  French ;  and  that,  contrary  to  the  agreement 
they  had  so  lately  signed,  to  allow  us  a  sufficient  force  to  protect  us  from  these 
insults,  they  tacitly  peiinitted  them,  for  I  could  plainly  perceive  the  French  ofllcers 
walking  about  at  some  distance,  liscussing  together,  with  apparei '  unconcern. 
For  the  honor  of  human  nature,  I  would  hope  that  this  flagrant  breach  of  every 
sacred  law  proceeded  rather  from  the  savage  disposition  of  the  Indians,  which  I 
acknowledge  it  is  sometimes  almost  impossible  to  control,  and  which  might  now, 
unexpectedly,  have  arrived  to  a  pitch  not  easily  to  be  restrained,  than  to  any  pre- 
meditated design  in  the  French  commander.  An  unprejudiced  observer  would, 
however,  be  apt  to  conclude  that  a  body  of  ten  thousand  Christian  troops  {most 
Christian  troops)  had  it  in  their  power  to  prevent  the  massacre  from  becoming  so 
general."   After  a  thrilling  account  of  his  own  escape  to  Fort  Edward,  he  concludes : 

"  It  was  computed  that  1500  pen.  ns  were  killed  or  made  prisoners  by  these 
savages  during  this  fatal  day.  Many  of  the  latter  were  carried  ofl'  by  them,  and 
never  returned.  A  few,  through  favorable  accidents,  found  their  way  back  to  their 
native  country,  after  having  experienced  a  long  and  painful  captivity." — Carver^s 
Travck  in  America,  Ed.  1778,  pp.  316  to  325. 


94 

—  An  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  war  between  the  two  great  Indian 
nations,  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  text,  at  the  discovery  of  Canada,  may, 
perhaps,  be  found  in  the  following  extract  from  the  relation  of  Cctrticr's  second 
voyage.  It  was  upon  this  voyage,  in  the  year  1535,  that  he  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Hochelaga,  and  gave  the  jiame  "  Mont  Royale  "  to  the  mountain,  at 
the  foot  of  which  is  the  present  city  of  Montreal.  From  this  mountain,  looking 
southward,  he  waj  the  first  wuite  man  who  beheld  the  Adirondaclcs  and  the  Green 
Mountains.  After  his  return,  in  boats,  down  the  river,  to  t^e  Island  of  Orleans, 
where  his  ships  had  been  left,  the  "  Lord  ol  the  Country "  came  to  him,  and 
desired  him,  the  next  day,  "  to  come  and  see  Canada,  which  he  promised  to  doe." 

"The  next  day,  being  the  13th  of  the  month  (October,  1535),  he,  with  all  his 
gentlemen,  and  flftie  mariners,  very  well  appointed,  went  to  visite  Donnacona  and 
his  people,  about  a  league  from  our  ships.  The  place  where  they  make  their  abode 
is  called  Stadacona.  When  we  were  about  a  stone's  cast  from  their  houses,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  came  to  meet  us,  beiug  all  set  in  a  ranke,  and  (as  their  custome 
is)  the  men  all  on  one  side,  and  the  women  on  the  other,  still  dancing  and  singing, 
without  any  ceasing ;  and,  after  we  had  saluted  and  received  one  another,  our 
Captaine  gave  them  knives,  aud  such  other  sleight  things  ;  then  he  caused  all  the 
women  and  children  to  passe  along  before  him,  giving  each  one  a  ring  of  Tin,  for 
which  they  gave  him  hearty  thaukes  ;  that  done,  our  Captaine  was,  by  Donnaconi 
and  Taignoagny,  brought  to  see  their  houses,  which  (the  qualitie  considered)  were 
very  well  provided,  and  stored  with  such  victuals  as  the  countrey  yleldeth,  to  passe 
away  the  winter  withall.  Then  they  shewed  us  tie  skins  of  five  men's  heads, 
spread  upon  boards,  as  we  doe  use  parchmmts.  Donnacona  told  us  that  they 
were  skins  of  Toudamani,  a  people  dwelling  toward  the  South,  who  continually  doe 
warre  again»t  them.  Moreover,  they  told  us  that  It  was  two  yeares  past  that  those 
Toudamans  came  to  assault  them,  yea,  even  Into  the  said  river,  in  an  island  that 
lyeth  over  against  Suguenay,  where  they  had  bin  the  night  before,  as  they  were 
going  a  warfaring  In  Hognedo,  with  200  persons,  men  women  and  children,  who 
beelng  all  asleepe  in  a  fort  that  they  had  made,  they  were  assaulted  by  the  said 
Toudamans,  who  put  fire  round  about  the  fort,  and  as  they  would  have  come  out 
of  it  to  save  themselves,  they  were  all  siaine,  only  five  excepted,  who  escaped. 
For  which  losse  they  yet  sorrowed,  shewing  with  signes  that  one  day  they  would 
be  revenged ;  that  done,  we  came  to  our  ships  agalne."— ffaA:/uy<'<  Voyages,  Vol. 
III.,  p.  223. 


NUMBERS  IL,  III.    Page  25. 

Peleg  Sunderland  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  energetic  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Vermont.  John  Brown  says  that  he  "  was  an  old  Indian  hunter,  acquainted 
with  the  St.  Francois  Indians  and  their  language."  His  associate  upon  this 
journey  was  Wintbrop  Hoyt,  who  had  been  many  years  p.  captive  among  the 
Indians  of  the  Caughnawaga  tribe.  Through  the  familiarity  of  his  guides  with 
the  habits  and  language  of  the  Indians,  Mr.  Brown  was  able  to  ascertain  that  the 
latter  had  already  been  urged  to  join  the  Uoyal  forces  against  the  people  of  Boston, 
aud  that  they  had  refused  to  do  so.    Sunderland  arid  Hoyt  remained  among  them 


98 

Bovcrni  days,  aut'  left  t'lem  well  disposed  towa'-ds  the  New  Englanders,  whom  they 
promised  to  join,  If  they  tools  any  part  in  the  contest.  The  importance,  especially 
to  the  people  upon  the  northern  portion  of  the  Grants,  of  Brown's  mission,  was 
very  groat.  The  result  of  open  war  which  they  most  dreaded,  was  an  invasion  of 
the  Indians  Irom  Canada,  through  the  instigation  of  the  British.  Their  neutrality 
enabled  all  the  settlers  on  the  Winooslsi  River  to  remove,  with  their  effects,  to  the 
south-western  portion  of  the  Grants,  and  the  Indians  did  not  become  active  par- 
ticipants in  the  contest  until  the  invasior  of  Buegoyne,  in  1777. 

Sunderland  was  compensated  by  the  Legislature  of  Vermont  for  this  service 
in  1787.  From  his  petition,  it  appears  that  he  was  employed  in  it  for  twenty-nine 
days,  and  the  committee,  to  which  his  petition  was  referred,  reported  that  the 
service  was  proved  to  their  satisfaction,  and,  upon  their  recommendation,  he 
received  for  it  "eight  pounds  fourteen  shillings,  in  hard  money  orders."  In 
Graham's  Slictch  of  Vermont,  p.  134,  the  following  account  is  given  of  Sunder- 
land's connection  with  the  name  of  Oniou  River:  "This  river  toolc  its  name 
from  the  following  circumstance :  A  Mr.  Peleg  Sunderland,  in  1761,  in  hunting 
lor  beaver  on  this  stream,  lost  his  way,  and  was  nearly  exhausted  with  fatigue  aud 
hunger,  when  a  party  of  Indians  fortunately  met  him,  and,  with  great  humanity, 
relieved  his  wants,  and  saved  him  from  perishing.  Their  provisions  wee  poor, 
but  what  they  had  they  freely  gave,  and  their  kindness  made  amends  for  more 
costly  fare.  Their  whole  store  consisted  of  onions,  and  Mr.  Sunderland  tJjen  gave 
to  the  stream,  near  which  he  was  so  providentially  preserved  the  name  of  Onion 
River,  which  it  has  ever  since  retained." 

In  resistance  to  the  authorit  of  New  York,  before  the  Revolution,  Sunder- 
land was  one  of  the  active  leadera, — the  most  active,  perhaps,  after  Allen,  Warner 
and  Baker.  Of  this,  abundant  evidence  is  furnished  by  the  affidavits  published  in 
the  fourth  volume  of  the  "  Documentary  History  of  New  York,"  p.  864,  et  aeg. 
0ns  Jacob  Marsh,  gives  a  pathetic  account  of  his  experiences  in  Socialborough,  in 
the  year  1773.  He  declares  that  the  Bennington  mob  had  "  taken  off  the  roof  from 
his  house,  split  a  number  of  boards,  and  done  him  other  damage."  That  he  had 
"  been  informed,  and  verily  believes,  that  John  Smith  and  Peleg  Sunderland  (both 
of  Socialboro')  were  the  captains  or  leaders  of  the  mob ; "  and  that  "  he  verily 
believes,  that  if  he  should  act  in  his  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  in  the  said 
county  of  Charlotte,  his  effects  and  property  would  be  destroyed  by  said  mob,  and 
that  his  life  would  be  in  danger."  He  was  furnished  with  a  certificate,  dated  at 
Arlington,  November  20,  1773,  in  those  words :  "  These  may  surtify,  that  Jacob 
Marsh  hath  been  examined  and  had  on  fare  trial,  so  that  our  mob  shall  not  medeal 
further  with  him,  as  long  as  he  behaves."  Benjamin  Hough  says  that  Sunderland 
was  one  of  the  party  who  "  insisted  that  he  should  call  together  all  the  people  of 
Durham,  to  their  judgment  seat, — that  Allen  declared  that  the  day  of  judgment 
had  come,  when  every  man  should  be  judged  according  to  his  works."  Sunder- 
land was  one  of  the  parties  named  in  the  celebrated  proclamation,  offering  a 
reward  for  the  capture  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  to  the  New  York  authorities. 

Sunderland  appears  to  have  been  a  captain  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
during  the  Revolution.  In  1782,  a  British  officer  having  raised  seventeen  recruits 
in  the  county  of  Albany,  undertook  to  conduct  them  through  Vermont  to  Canada. 


m 

Passing  through  Arlington,  they  made  prisoners  of  Lieutenant  Blanchard  and 
Scargent  Ormsbee,  wt  se  father,  Major  Orinsbec,  upon  learning  of  his  capture, 
and  the  route  which  tho  party  had  taken,  after  sending  an  express  to  inform  Col. 
Ira  Allen  of  the  facts,  directed  Captain  Sunderland,  with  a  parry  of  men,  to  pur- 
sue the  enemy.  The  Captain  took  his  hounds  with  him,  who  followed  the  enemy, 
by  th'ilr  scent,  but  did  not  overtake  them  before  they  had  been  captured  by  a  party 
under  Captain  Eastman,  of  Rupert,  which  had  been  sent  out  by  Allen,  and  way- 
laid them  in  a  mountain  pass.  The  houuds  of  Captain  Sunderland  followed  the 
tracks  to  the  very  feet  of  the  prisoners,  thus  showing  that  thev  were  the  same 
party  who  had  been  pursued  from  Arlington.  They  were  brought  before  the 
Governor,  examined,  and  committed  to  Bennington  jail,  from  whence  they  were 
sent  to  Canada,  and  exchanged  for  Vermonters,  who  were  prisoners  of  war. — 
Allen's  Hist.  Vt,  pp.  230,  231. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  H.  Hall's  "  Earlij  History  of  Vermonty"  p. 
471:  "An  examination  of  the  records  of  Manchester,  shows  Captain  Sunderland 
to  have  resided  in  that  town  until  the  year  1791 ;  to  have  been  the  owner  of  re  1 
estate  and  other  property,  and  to  have  possessed  the  coufldence  of  his  townsmen 
In  1787,  he  was  appointed  at  the  head  of  a  committee  of  three  to  draw  instructions 
for  the  town  representatives  to  the  Assembly.  On  another  occasion,  he  was  one 
of  a  committee  on  the  subject  of  the  school  lands  of  the  town,  and  his  name 
appears  on  the  records  on  other  important  occasions.  The  date  of  his  removal 
from  Manchester,  or  the  time  and  place  of  his  death,  has  not  been  ascertained. 
He  was  evidently  a  man  of  intelligence,  as  well  as  of  activity  and  enterprise,  and 
of  respectable  standing  in  society." 

It  ia  stated  by  descendants  of  one  of  the  families  concerned,  that  Sunder- 
land was  one  of  the  party  who  rescued  the  lost  children  of  Eldad  Taylor,  in 
1780,  an  incident  which  forms  the  subject  of  one  of  D.  P.  Thompson's  most  inter- 
esting tales.  It  also  exhibits  the  traits  of  character  which  made  Ethan  Allen  so 
popular  among  his  neighbors.  The  relation  is  thus  given  by  Zadoek  Thompson, 
in  his  "  Gazetteer  of  Vermont,"  in  a  note  to  his  account  of  the  town  of  Sunder- 
land: 

"On  the  31st  of  May,  1780,  two  daughters  of  Eldad  Taylor,  of  Sunderland, 
Keziah,  aged  seven,  and  Betsey,  aged  lour  years,  wandered  into  the  woods.  Not 
returning,  the  parents  became  alarmed,  and  commenced  a  search,  which,  with  the 
aid  of  a  few  neighbors,  was  continued  through  the  night,  without  success.  The 
next  day  the  search  was  continued  by  large  numbers  from  this  and  the  neighbor- 
ing towns,  until  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  when  it  was  re- 
linquished, and  the  people  who  had  been  out  collected  together,  with  the  view  of 
returning  to  their  homes.  Among  these  was  one  who  thought  the  search  should 
not  be  abandoned,  and  this  was  Ethan  Allen.  He  mounted  a  stump,  and  soon 
all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him.  In  his  laconic  manner,  he  pointed  to  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  lost  children,  now  petrified  with  grief  and  despair,  bade  each  indi- 
vidual present,  and  especially  those  who  were  parents,  to  make  the  case  of  these 
parents  his  own,  and  then  say  whether  they  could  go  contentedly  to  their  homes, 
without  making  one  further  effort  to  save  these  dear  little  ones,  wlio  were  probably 


97 

now  alive,  but  perishing  with  liuncrcr,  aud  BiicndinK  their  last  strength  In  crying 
to  father  and  mother  to  give  them  sometiiing  to  eat.  As  he  spoke,  liis  giant  form 
was  agitated,  aud  tlic  tears  rolled  down  his  elieeks,  and,  in  the  assembly  of  several 
hundred  men,  but  few  eyes  were  dry.  "I'll  go!  I'll  go!"  was  at  length  heard 
from  every  part  of  the  erowd.  They  betook  themselves  to  the  woods,  and  before 
night  the  lost  ehildren  were  restored  in  safety  to  the  arms  of  their  distracted 
parents.  It  appeared  that  the  first  night  they  laid  down  at  the  foot  of  a  large  tree, 
and  the  second  they  spent  upon  a  large  roek.  They  obtained  plenty  of  drink  from 
the  stream,  but  were  very  weak  for  want  of  food.  They,  however,  both  survived, 
and  Betsey,  the  younger,  is  now  (July,  1842)  the  wife  of  Captain  John  Munson,  of 
Wiliiston.  The  elder  was  the  wife  of  John  Jones,  and  died  some  years  ago,  In 
Williston." 


NUMBER  IV.     Page  25. 

The  letter  of  John  Brown  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  In  Boston. 

Montreal,  March  29,  1775, 
Gentlemen: — Immediately  after  the  reception  of  your  letters  and  pamphlets,  1 
went  to  Albany,  to  find  the  state  of  the  lakes,  and  established  a  correspondence 
with  Dr.  Joseph  Young.  I  found  the  lakes  impassable  at  that  time.  About  a  fort- 
night after,  I  set  out  for  Canada,  aud  arrived  at  St.  Johns  in  fourteen  days,  having 
undergone  almost  inconceivable  hardships, — the  Lake  Champlain  being  very  high, 
the  small  streams  and  rivers,  and  great  part  of  the  country,  for  twenty  miles  each 
fslde  of  the  lake,  especially  towards  Canada,  under  water.  The  Lake  Champlain 
was  partly  open,  and  partlj'  covered  with  dangerous  lee,  which,  breaking  loose  for 
miles  in  length,  our  crafts  drove  us  against  an  island,  and  froze  us  in  for  two  days, 
after  which  we  were  glad  to  foot  it  on  laud. 

I  delivered  your  letters  to  Messrs.  Thomas  Walker  and  Blake,  and  was  very 
kindly  received  by  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  at  Montreal,  from  whom  I 
received  the  following  state  of  affairs  in  the  Province  of  Quebeck.  Governor  Carle- 
ton  Is  no  great  politician;  a  man  of  sour,  morose  temper;  a  strong  friend  to 
Administration,  and  the  late  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  which  respect  America, 
particularly  the  Quebeck  Bill;  has  restrained  the  liberty  of  the  press,  that  nothing 
can  be  printed  without  examination  and  license.  Application  has  been  made  to 
him  for  printing  the  address  from  the  Continental  Congress,  and  a  refusal  obtained. 
All  the  troops  in  this  Province  are  ordered  to  hold  themselves  In  readiness  for 
Boston  at  the  shortest  notice.  Four  or  five  hundred  snow-shoes  are  prepared,  for 
what  use  they  know  not.  Mr.  Walker  has  wrote  you,  about  three  weeks  since, 
and  has  been  very  explicit.  He  informs  you  that  two  regular  offlcers  (lieutenants) 
have  gone  off  in  disguise,  supposed  to  be  gone  to  Boston,  and  to  make  what  dis- 
covery they  can  through  the  country. 

I  have  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  to  Inform  you  that,  through  the  Industry 
and  exertions  of  our  friends  lu  Canada,  our  enemies  are  not,  at  present,  able  to 
raise  ten  men  for  Administration.  The  weapons  that  have  been  used  by  our  friends 
to  thwart  the  constant  endeavors  of  the  friends  of  Government  (so-called),  hare 

7 


98 

been  chiefly  in  terrorem.  The  French  people  are  (ns  a  body)  extremely  Ignomnt 
and  bigoted,  the  curates  or  priests  having  almost  the  entire  government  of  their 
temporal,  ns  well  as  spiritual  ntralrs.  In  Ln  Prairie,  a  small  village,  about  nine 
miles  from  Montreal,  I  gave  my  landlord  a  letter  of  address,  and  t^ere  being 
four  Cures  in  the  village,  praying  over  the  dead  body  of  an  old  friar,  the  pamjjhlet 
was  soon  handed  to  them,  who  sent  a  messenger  to  purchase  several  of  them.  I 
made  them  a  present  of  each  of  them  one,  and  was  desired  to  wait  on  them  in  the 
Nunnery,  wLlh  the  holy  liisters.  They  appeared  to  have  no  disposition  unfriendly 
toward  the  Colonics,  but  chose  rather  to  stand  neuter. 

Two  men  from  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  accompanied  me  over  tlie  Lakes. 
The  one  was  an  old  Indian  hunter,  acquainted  with  the  St.  Francis'  Indians  and 
their  language ;  the  other  was  a  captive  many  years  among  the  Catjhnawaga 
IndiutM,  which  is  the  principal  of  all  the  Canadian  Six  Nations,  and  western 
tril)C3  of  Indians,  whom  I  scut  to  enquire  and  search  out  any  Intrigues  carryingon 
among  them.  These  men  have  this  minute  icturned,  and  report  that  they  were 
very  itindiy  received  by  the  Caghnaioaga  Indians,  with  whom  they  tarried  several 
days.  The  Indians  say  they  have  been  repeatedly  applied  to,  and  requested  to 
oin  with  the  King's  Troops  to  light  Boston,  but  have  peremptorily  refused,  and 
still  intend  to  refuse.  They  are  a  verv  simple,  politiclt  people,  and  say  tha*  if  they 
are  obliged,  for  their  own  safety,  to  t.iko  up  arms  on  either  side,  tliat  they  shall 
take  part  on  the  side  of  their  brethren,  the  English  in  Neio  England,— w\\  the  chiefs 
of  the  Caghnaioaga  tribe  being  of  English  extraction,  captivated  in  their  infancy. 
They  have  wrote  a  friendly  letter  to  Colonel  Israel  Putnam,  o"  Pom/ret,  in  Con- 
necticut, in  consequence  of  a  letter  which  Colonel  Putnam  sent  ihem,  in  which 
letter  they  give  their  brother  Putnam  assuranci  of  their  peaceable  dibposition. 
Several  French  geutlCxnen  of  Montreal  have  paid  the  Governour  a  visit,  and  offered 
him  their  services,  as  officers,  to  raise  a  Canadian  Army,  and  join  the  King's 
Troops.  The  Governour  told  them  he  could  get  officers  in  plenty,  but  the  diffi- 
culty consisted  in  raising  soldiers. 

There  is  no  prospect  of  Canada  sending  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress. 
The  difficulty  consists  in  this :  Should  the  English  join  in  the  Non-Importation 
Agreement,  the  French  would  Immediately  monopolize  the  Indian  trade.  The 
French  in  Canada  arc  a  set  of  people  who  know  no  other  way  of  procuring  wealth 
and  honour,  but  by  becoming  Court  sycophants  ;  and,  as  the  introduction  of  the 
French  laws  will  make  room  for  the  French  gentry,  they  are  very  thick  about 
the  Governor.  You  may  depend  that,  should  any  movement  be  aad«  among  the 
French  to  join  against  the  Colonies,  your  friends  here  will  give  the  shortest  notice 
possible ;  and  the  Indians,  on  their  part,  have  engaged  to  do  the  same,  so  that  you 
have  no  occasion  to  expect  to  be  surprised  without  notice,  should  the  worst  event 
take  place. 

I  have  established  a  channel  of  correspondance  through  the  Neto  Hampshire 
Grants,  which  may  be  depended  on.  Mr.  Walker's  letter  comes  by  the  hand  of 
Mr.  Jefflers,  once  of  Boston,  now  on  his  way  thither,  which,  together  with  this,  is 
a  full  account  of  affiiirs  here.  I  shall  tarry  here  some  time,  but  shall  not  go  to 
Quebeck,  as  there  are  a  number  of  their  Committee  here. 

One  thing  I  must  mention,  to  be  kept  a  profound  secret.     The  Fort  at  Ticon- 


99 

deroga  must  be  seized  iia  soon  ivh  poasible,  should  hostilities  be  committed  by  the 
King's  Iroops.  The  people  on  New  Ilanipahire  G rants  ha.y a  engaged  to  do  thU 
business,  and,  in  my  opinion,  they  are  the  most  proper  persons  lor  this  job.  This 
will  eH'eetuiilly  curb  this  i'rovlnce.  uud  all  the  troops  that  may  be  sent  here. 

As  the  messenger  to  carry  this  letter  has  been  wailing  some  time,  with  impa. 
Hence,  I  must  conclude,  by  subscribing  myself,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

JOHN  BROWN. 
To  Slr.^SAMUEL  A^DAMS,  )  (.o,n,nitico  of  Correspondance  in  Boston. 

I  am  this  minute  inf'>-med  that  Mr.  Carleton  has  ordered  that  no  wheat  (;o 
out  of  the  river,  until  further  orders ;  the  design  is  obvious. 


NUMBER    V.    Page  28. 
A  Vindication  of  the  Opposition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Vermont  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  New  Yorl£,  and  of  their  Right  to  form  into  an  Independant  State. 
Humbly  submitted  to  the  Consideration  of  the  impartial  World.     By  Ethan 
Allen.    P'intcd  by  Aklcn  Spooner,  1779:  Printer  to  the  State  of  Vermont. 
The  following  extract  from  this  pamphlet  precedes  the  portion  of  it  which  is 
cited  in  the  text,  commencing  on  the  ninth  page  : 

"The  approaching  rupiuro  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  was 
matter  of  serious  reflection  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  frontier ;  their  controversy 
with  New  York  having  (at  great  expense)  been  previously  submitted  to  the  King 
and  Privy  Council,  by  the  negotiation  of  special  agents,  at  two  different  times,  and 
was  in  a  high  probability  of  being  determined  In  their  favor,  which  influenced 
some  of  the  inhabitants  to  talie  a  part  with  Great  Britain;  the  more  .^o,  as  this 
part  of  the  country  was  a  frontier,  and,  of  consequence,  would  be  greatly  under 
the  enemy's  power,  who  was  then  in  possession  of  Ttconderoga,  Croion  Point  and 
at.  Johns,  and  commanded  the  Lalte  with  a  vessel  of  force,  besides.  At  the  same 
time,  their  settlements  were  extended  on  the  east  side  of  the  Lake,  almost  to  the 
Province  of  Quebec.  This  was  their  situation  when  on  the  very  eve  of  a  war  with 
Great  Britain. 

The  Battle  of  Lexington  almost  distracted  them,  for  interest  inclined  them  to 
favor  the  royal  side  of  the  dispute ;  but  the  stronger  impulses  of  affection  to  their 
country  excited  them  to  resent  its  wrougs,  ond  obtain  satisfaction  for  the  blood  of 
their  massacred  countrymen.  Their  condition  was  truly  perplexed  and  critical ; 
their  hopes  were  placed  on  the  royal  authority  for  their  deliverance  from  the  en- 
croachments and  oppressions  of  the  Government  of  New  York ;  but  the  ties  of 
consanguinity,  personal  acquaintance  and  friendship,  similarity  of  religion  and 
manners  to  the  New  England  Governments,  from  whom  these  inhabitants  had  most 
generally  emigrated,  weighed  very  heavy  in  their  deliberations  ;  besides,  the  cause 
of  the  country  was  generally  believed  to  be  just,  and  that  resistance  to  Great 
Britain  had  become  the  indespensable  duty  of  a  free  people.  But  there  was  one 
yery  knotty  query,  which  exercised  the  minds  of  their  best  politicians,  Tiz. :  Pro- 


100 

vldcd  they  should  tiikc  an  nctlvo  part  with  their  country  ;  and,  ftjrthormorc,  pro- 
vided an  accuuiniodntlon  shonld  liiku  pluc-c,  and  the  Colonics  rulurn  to  tlielr  forniur 
alluglancu,  what  would  thou  become  of  Iheiu,  or  their  ruiuonstranccD  af^ainitt  the 
Oovernniunt  of  New  York,  lodged  at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain  f  But  tbln  dunjfor 
Bceiuri  to  have  been  luckily  paHH<!d  over. 

Soon  alter  the  news  of  the  Leximjton  Uattlo,  the  principal  otflcers  of  the  Oruen 
Mountain  Boys,  and  other  principal  Inhabitants,  were  convened  at  livnniwjtori, 
and  attempted  to  explore  futurity,  but  it  wuh  found  to  be  nnfathoinable  ;  and  the 
scenes  which  have  since  taken  place,  then  appeared  to  be  prucarlouH  and  uncertain. 
Ilowever,  it  was  Imagined  that,  provided  those  Inhabitants  were  loyal  to  thuir 
country,  and  the  event  of  the  war  should  prove  favorable  to  Ameriea,  and  their 
stru|u;glcs  for  liberty  should  hrUxg  about  a  revolution,  instead  of  a  rebellion  ;  that, 
In  this  case,  they  should  rid  themselves  of  the  grievous  usurpation  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  New  York,  ond  be  entitled  and  readily  admitted  to  any  privileges  which 
could  reasonably  be  expected  on  revolution  principles,  which  undoubtedly  will  bo 
the  consequence  (for  it  can  hardly  be  doubted,  that,  provided  the  said  inhabitants 
had  exercised  the  same  degree  of  loyalty  to  the  King  that  they  have  to  the  country, 
they  might  have  shared  as  great  privileges  from  tlie  royal  favor  as  they  now  re- 
quest of  Congress,  viz. :  Provided  the  event  of  the  war  had  proved  as^  successful 
to  Britain  as  it  has  to  America.)  And  as  every  of  the  Colonics  and  plantations 
were  then  taking  arms  for  the  mutual  security  of  their  liberty,  and  it  was  equally 
just  and  Incumbent  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  to  do  the 
same;  It  was  therefore  resolved  to  take  an  active  part  with  the  country,  and 
thereby  annihilate  the  old  quarrel  with  the  Government  of  New  York,  by  swallow- 
ing it  up  in  thegenerol  conflict  for  liberty  ;  at  that  time  not  apprehending  the  least 
danger  (on  the  proviso  of  a  revolution's  taking  place)  that  Congress  would  resolve 
them  to  belong  to  the  Government  of  New  York,  or  in  any  manner  countenance 
their  being  deprived  of  their  liberty,  by  subjecting  them  under  the  power  of  a 
government  which  they  detest  more  than  that  of  the  British,  which  they  have 
manfully  oasistifd  the  United  States  to  suppress." 


NUMBER  VI.    Page  29. 

GoL.  Samdbl  H.  Parsomb  to  Joseph  Tbumbcll. 

New  London,  2d  June,  1775. 

Dear  Sir: — A  small  sketch  of  my  history  since  I  saw  you  at  Oxford  may  give 
you  some  satisfaction,  and  open  a  little  the  state  of  mind  some  gentlemen  have 
been  In  the  whole  of  last  moon. 

When  I  left  you,  1  proceeded  to  Hartford,  where  I  arrived  Thursday  forenoon 
[April  27].  You  remei  iber  1  remarked  to  you,  I  was  concerned  for  the  defenseless 
state  (as  I  supposed)  of  our  cump,  and  the  want  of  heavy  cannon,  to  effect  any- 
thing against  the  tow  i.  On  my  way  to  Hartford,  I  fell  in  wiih  Capt.  Arnold,  who 
gave  me  an  account  c  f  the  state  of  Ticouderoga,  and  that  a  great  number  of  brass 
cannon  were  there.  On  my  arrival  at  Hartford,  Col.  Sam.  Wyllys,  ?/Ir.  Dcane  and 
myself  first  undertook  and  projected  taking  that  fort,  etc. ;  and,  with  the  assist- 


101 

ance  of  thrco  othor  percono,  propnrpd  monoy,  men,  etc.,  nnd  sfltit  out  on  this 
expcdltlor,  without  iiny  coiiNuUallon  with  AHsemhly,  or  others.  Thl»  1  mrnllon 
only  for  this  reason,  thiit 'tin  mutter  of  diversion  to  mu  to  sec  the  viirlons  com- 
petitors for  tlic  lionor  of  coneertinu;  and  rnrrylnj?  tliis  matter  Into  execution,  con- 
tondinjj  HO  strenuously  about  a  m.itter,  in  the  execution  of  which  nil  concerned 
Justly  deserve  ajujlauso.  But  some  cannot  hear  an  eiiuai,  and  none  a  superior;  and 
all  nuike  representations  at  tho  expense  of  truth,  to  monopolize  what  ought  to  bo 
divided;  l)Ut  nioiu!  of  this  anotluM- time.  I  waited  at  Hartford  illl  Saturday,— fjot 
my  hcatin;;;  orders,  and  .vent  home.  The  next  week  my  com|)any  was  liiled,  and 
I  had  orders  to  nmreh  to  Boston,  and  tin*  week  foliowlu};  l)ej;an  our  march,  when, 
to  my  surprise,  the  Sunday  followlufr,  heard  the  CommlsHary  had  stopped  thu 
companlert  at  Norwleli.  The  same  day  I  sent  to  Hartford  a  memorandum  respect- 
ing the  state  of  tho  case.  My  messen(,'er  returned  Thursday  ;  nolhinff  done.  Tho 
same  day  I  went  up  myself,  and  could  >;et  no  answer  till  Saturday  noon,  when  my 
orders  to  march  were  countermanded,  and  my  rc{,'iment  ordered  back  to  New 
London  till  further  orders,  where  I  -low  am,  as  much  cha),alncd  as  any  person  need 
be;  but  this  Is  p.  pleasure  to  my  good  friends,  who  feel  a  hearty  satisfaction  in 
mortifying  me.  The  renowned  Col.  W.,  the  ambassador,  is  the  first  on  the  list  of 
my  friends.  He,  on  Saturday,  mov'd  that  the  further  consideration  of  the  desti- 
nation of  tlie  troops  might  be  further  laid  over  (to  bed,  I  suppose)  for  consider- 
ation.  This  yreat  man  Is  tho  same  nnehan  jcd  person  who,  I  believe,  would,  even 
now,  gladly  baflle  all  overtures  for  our  salvation. 

I  am  now  destined  to  this  state  of  Imprisonment,  from  whence  I  shall  never 
be  delivered  without  your  help,  and  the  assistance  of  Generals  Spencer  and 
Putnam.  If  proper  representations  of  the  necessity  of  more  men  at  Boston,  was 
made  to  the  Governor  by  ray  friends  In  camp,  I  am  certain  he  will  order  my  regi- 
ment to  Boston,  immediately  after  the  Assembly  rises,  which,  I  suppose,  was  last 
night,  or  will  be  this  day.  I  beg  you  will  use  your  interest  to  deliver  one  from  this 
evil  state  as  soon  as  possible. 

What's  become  of  our  friend.  Jemmy  Lovell  ?  What  Is  the  condition  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Boston  ?  Are  they  sutlered  to  come  outV  The  circumstances  of 
our  army,  and  the  Intended  operations  of  our  forces  ?  are  questions  I  want  to  have 
answered.  If  I  am  to  remain  on  the  clam  batiks,  I  hope  you  will  take  the  first 
opportunity  to  write  me,  and  give  as  particular  information  as  possible. 

I  am.  Sir, 
To  Capt.  Joseph  Trumbull,  )  Your  Friend, 

In  Cambridge.  >  S.  PARSONS, 


NUMBER  ril.     Page  80. 

The  claim  that  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock  were  at  Hartford,  and  particB 
to  the  arrangement  by  Colonel  Parsons  and  his  associates,  to  send  the  messengers 
to  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  there  to  raise  men  for  the  expedition  against  Tieon- 
deroga,  rests  wholly  upon  an  extract  from  a  letter  published  In  Force's  Archives, 
p.  507,  as  an  "Extract  from  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  In  Pittsflcld  to  an  officer  at 


102 

Carabrhlgo,  May  4,  1775,"  In  which  It  la  said  thnt  "the  plna  wob  concerted  at 
Iliirt.loril  last  Saturday,  l)y  the  Governor  and  Council ;  Colonel  ilaneock,  and  Mr. 
Adanin  and  oUkth  IVoui  our  I'rovlnco  licliijf  presi'iit."  Mr.  J.  Hammond  TiiUM- 
HULI.,  In  his  conclne  and  excellent  paper  on  the  "  Orijiln  of  the  Kxpcilitlon  aj;ain8t 
Tleonderojfa,"  hau  elearly  Mhowu  the  error  of  tlilti  Blatenient,  and  that  Mr.  Huncrofl 
was  nilHled  hy  It.  Saturday  wan  tlni  twenty-ninth  of  Ajjrll,  and  on  that  day,  accord- 
hiK  to  Mr.  VVellM,  the  lilo>,'raphi'r  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  latter,  In  company  with  Mr. 
Hancock,  arrived  at  Harllord,  havlny  lieen  v.l  Woreewter,  on  the  a7lh,  aa  we  have 
already  Heen.  But  the  expedition  orlf^lnatod  at  Hartford  on  the  'A7th.  This  Is 
Bliown  by  the  letter  from  Pardons  to  Triimlmll  of  June  a,  and  titn  receipts  for 
the  money  drawn  from  the  treasury  of  Connevtieut  arc  dated  on  the '2Hth,  he/ore 
the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Ilnneoek  and  Adams.  Mott  sayt),  in  his  journal,  that  ho 
arrived  at  Hartford  on  the  28th,  and  that  Deane  and  I'arbons  wished  bo  "had 
arrived  one  day  sooner;  tint  they  Iiad  been  on  such  a  plan,  and  had  sent  off 
Messrs.  Noah  Phelps  and  Bernard  Komans,  who  they  liad  supplied  witli  &'AWi  cash 
from  the  Treasury,"  etc. ;  and  the  journal  continues,  "  Saturday,  the  2!(th  April, 
in  tlie  aflcrnoon,  wc  set  out  on  said  expedition."  It  is,  there  i'ore,  certain  that  the 
writer  o!  the  PittslW^ld  letter  was  in  error,  and  that  Adams  and  Hancock  could 
hav(!  iiad  nothing  to  do  with  the  origin  of  the  exi)edillon,  as  they  did  not  reach 
Hartford  until  two  days  after  the  plan  was  laid,  and  one  day  ailer  1  ueips  and 
Romans  luid  departed. 

This  is  not  the  only  error  which  has  arisen  from  ihesc  Pittsfleld  letters,  and 
their  incomplete  publication  by  Mr.  Force.  They  were,  in  fact,  written  by  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  to  General  Seth  Pomroy,  wiio  was  tlien  with  the  array  at 
Cambrid{;;e.  It  is  not  difHcult,  now  that  the  authorship  of  these  letters  is  known, 
to  understni.d  iiow  Mr.  Allen  fell  into  his  mistake,  for  such  it  was,  beyond  cpicstlon. 
No'ih  Phelps  and  Romans,  who  left  Hartford  with  the  money,  went  to  Bennington 
direct.  If  tlicy  passed  through  PlttsHeid,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  made  any  stny 
there,  or  to  have  communicated  their  mission  to  any  one  previous  to  tlielr  arrival 
on  the  Grants.  Mott  and  his  party  left  Hartford  on  Saturday,  in  the  afternoon,  and 
did  not  reach  Pittsfleld  until  the  evening  of  Monday,  May  Ist.  They  went  direct 
to  Colonel  Easton's,  with  whom  they  passed  the  night.  Mr.  Allen  was  chairman 
of  the  Pittsfleld  Committee  of  Safety,  and  would  probably  have  been  consulted  by 
Mott  and  his  party.  Tliey  left  Hartford  after  Adams  and  Hancock  arrived  there, 
and  might  naturally  have  spoken  of  their  arrival  in  connection  with  theii  own  expe- 
dition. The  fact  that  Phelps  and  Romans  had  preceded  them  by  a  day.  was 
probably  not  explained,  and  thus  Mr.  Allen  was  left  to  infer  that  the  expedition 
was  organized  on  Saturday,  instead  of  on  Thursday.  Mott  states  that  he  overtook 
those  who  had  gone  forward,  after  he  reached  Bennington,  except  Noah  Phelps 
and  a  Mr.  Hitchcock,  who  were  gone  to  reconnoiter  the  fort. 

The  authorship  of  the  two  Pittsfleld  letters,  which  are  published  in  a  mutilated 
form  in  tlie  '-Archives,"  was  first  determined  by  Dr.  Field,  in  his  History  ol  Pitts- 
field,  Ipubiished  in  1844.  Both  these  letters  are  given  iu  the  Appendix  to  that 
History.    See  also  No.  XIX.  of  this  Appendix. 


103 

NVMUEIl  Vlll.    Page  33. 

The  Journal  o\  Captiiln  Mott  contnlns  8o  clcnr  nn  nccount  of  his  pnrt  In  the 
expp<lltlon  njfiilnst  Tlcondciojrii,  timt  I  tlihik  It  uliould  he  kIvcii  hero,  nolwlth- 
Btniidiiiii:  lis  length.  I  follow  the  copy  In  the  tlrst  volnnio  of  the  Connecticut 
llistoriciil  Hoclely'H  Collectionn. 

IT'.    "  I'HESTON,  Frltluy,  28tli  April,  1775.— Sot  out  for  Hartford,  whore  I  nrrlvod 
the  mime  diiy.    Saw  Christoplier  Lefliii^well,  Eh(|.,  who  enquired  of  nie  about  the 
situation  of  the  people  of  HoHton.     When  I  liad  ^Iven  lilni  an  accoiiiil,  he  anked 
me  how  Ihey  could  he  relieved,  and  where  1  thou^rht  wc  could  fjet  artillery  and 
stores.    I  told  him  I  knew^not,' except  wo  wc.it  and  took  posHettslon  of  Tle(jnder. 
opi  and  Crown  Point,  wliieh  1  tlioii;!;lit  mi^ht  be  done  by  wurprlae,  with  a  Hniall 
uuinber  of  men.    Mr.  Lcniufiwell  left  me,  and  in  a  whort  time  eanic  to  me  apiln, 
and  broujrju  wltli  lilm  Samuel  il.  I'arMoun  and  Silas  Deane,  Eh(ih.,  wlieii  he  asked 
me  if  I  would  undertake  in  sueli  an  expedition  as  wc  had  talked  of  before.    I  told 
])lm  I  would.    They  told  me  they  winlied  1  liad  been  tlierc  one  day  sooner;  that 
they  |):id  been  on  such  a  [)lan,  and  that  tliey  had  sent  olf  Messrs.  Noah  Fliclps  and 
Bernard  Romans,  who  they  had  sniiplied  with  JEilOO,  in  cash,  from  the  Treasnry, 
and  ordered  tliem  to  draw  lor  more  if  they  should  need  ;  tliat  said  Phelps  and 
Romans  were  j;one  by  the  way  of  Salisbury,  where  they  would  makv  a  stop  ;  tluit 
tiiey  ex;jeeted  a  small  number  of  men  would  join  I  hem.  and  It  1  would  <;o  after 
them,  they  wonld  give  me  an  order  or  letter  to  them,  to  Join  with  thc^m,  and  to 
have  my  voice  with  tiiem  in  eonductini!;  tlie  afl'air  and  lajinjr  out  the  money  ;  and 
also,  that  I  mifrht  take  live  or  six  men  with  me.     On  which,  1  took  with  me  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Halsey,  Mr.  Epaphras  Bull,  Mr.  Wm.  Nichols,  Mr.  Elijah  Babcock,  and 
John  Bij?elow  Joined  me;  and  Saturday,  the  SOtli  April,  In  the  afternoon,  we  set 
out  on  said  expedition.    That  niglit  arrived  at  Smltii's,  in  New  Hartford  ;  stayed 
tliat  nlglit.    The  nexi  day,  being  Sunday,  the  30tu  April,  on  our  way  to  Salisbury, 
Mr.  Babcock  tired  his  horse ;  wo  got  another  horse  of  Esq.  Humphrey,  in  Norfolk, 
and   that  day  arrived  at  Salisbury, — tarried  all  night ;   and  the  next  day,  liaving 
augmented  our  company  to  the  number  of  sixteen  in  the  whole,  we  concluded  it 
was  not  best  to  add  any  more,  as  we  meant  to  keep  our  business  a  secret,  and  ride 
through  the  country  unarmed  till  we  came  to  the  new  settlements  on  the  Grants. 
We  arrived  at  Mr.  Dewey's,  in  Shellield,  and  there  we  sent  off  Mr.  Jer.  Halsey  and 
Capt.  John  Stephens,  to  go  to  Albany,  in   order  to  discover  the  temper  of  the 
people  in  that  place,  and  to  return  and  Inform  U!>  as  soon  as  possible. 

That  night  we  arrived  at  Col.  Easton's,  in  Pittsfleld,  w  icrc  we  fell  in  company 
with  John  Brown,  Esq.,  who  had  been  at  Canada  and  Ticouderoga,  about  a  month 
before,  on  which  we  concluded  to  make  known  our  business  to  Col.  Easton  and 
said  Brown,  and  to  take  their  advice  on  the  same.  I  was  advised  by  Messrs. 
Deane,  LcfBugwell  and  Parsons,  at  Hartford,  not  to  raise  our  men  till  we  came  to 
the  N.  Hampshire  Grants,  lest  we  should  be  discovered  by  having  too  long  a  march 
through  the  country;  but  when  we  advised  with  said  Eastou  and  Brown,  they 
advised  us  that,  as  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions  in  the  Grants,  and  as 
the  people  were  generally  poor.  It  would  be  difficult  to  get  a  sufficient  number  ot 
mcD  there ;  therefore,  we  had  better  raise  a  number  of  men  sooner.     Said  Easton 


104 

and  Brown  concluded  to  go  with  us,  and  Easton  said  he  would  assist  mo  in  raising 
some  men  in  bis  regiment,  Wc  then  concluded  for  me  to  go  with  Col.  Easton  to 
Jericho  and  Williamstown,  to  raise  men,  and  the  rest  of  us  to  go  forward  to 
Bennington,  and  see  if  they  could  purchase  provisions  there.  We  raised  24  men 
In  Jericho,  and  15  in  Williamstown, -and  got  them  equipped,  ready  to  march.  Then 
Col.  Easton  and  I  set  out  for  Bennington.  That  evening,  we  met  with  an  expreis 
from  our  people,  informing  us  that  they  had  seen  a  man  directly  from  Ticonderoga, 
and  that  ho  informed  them  that  they  were  reinforced  at  Ticonderoga,  and  were 
repairing  the  gorrison,  and  were  every  way  on  their  guard  ;  therefore,  it  was  beat 
for  us  to  dismiss  the  men  wc  had  raised,  and  proceed  no  further,  as  wc  should  not 
succeed.  I  asked  who  the  man  was,  where  he  belonged,  and  where  he  was  going, 
but  could  get  no  account ;  on  which  I  ordered  that  the  men  should  not  be  dis- 
missed, but  that  we  would  proceed. 

The  next  day  I  arrived  at  Bennington ;  there,  overtook  our  people,  —all  but 
Noah  Phelps  and  Mr.  Heacock,  who  were  gone  forward  to  reconnoiter  the  fort, 
and  Mr.  Haisey  and  Jvir  Stephens  had  not  got  back  from  Albany.  1  inquired  why 
they  sent  back  to  me  to  dismiss  theexpedition,^yben  neither  ourmeu  from  Albany, 
nor  the  recounoitering  party  had  returned  ?  They  said  that  they  did  not  think 
that  we  should  succeed.  I  told  them  that  fellow  they  saw  knew  nothing  about 
the  garrison ;  that  I  had  seen  him  since,  and  had  examined  him  strictly,  and  that 
he  was  a  lying  fellow,  and  had  not  been  at  the  fort.  I  told  tliem,  with  the  two 
hundred  men  that  we  proposed  to  raise,  I  was  not  afraid  to  go  round  the  fort  in 
open  light ;  if  it  was  reinforced  with  Ave  hundred  men,  they  would  not  follow  us 
out  into  the  woods;  that  the  accounts  we  had  would  not  do  to  go  back  with,  and 
tell  in  Hartford.  While  on  this  discourse,  Mr.  Haisey  and  Stephens  came  back 
from  Albany,  and  both  agreed  with  me,  that  it  was  best  to  go  forward  ;  after  which, 
Mr.  Haisey  and  Mr.  Bull  both  declared  that,  they  would  go  back  for  no  story,  'till 
they  had  seen  the  fort  for  themselves.  On  which  it  was  concluded  that  we  would 
proceed ;  and,  as  provisions  were  very  scarce  on  the  Grants,  we  sent  Capt.  Stephens 
and  Mr.  Hewitt  to  Albany,  New  City,  to  purchase  provisions,  and  send  to  us  as 
soon  as  they  could  ;  and  Mr.  Bomr.ns  left  us,  and  joined  no  more.  Wo  were  all 
glad,  as  he  had  been  a  trouble  to  us  all  the  time  he  was  with  us. 

"^hen  we  proceeded  to  raise  men  as  fast  as  possible,  and  scut  forward  men  on 
whom  we  could  depend,  to  waylay  the  roads  that  lead  from  those  places  we  were 
raising  men  in,  to  Fort  Edward,  Lake  George,  Skenesborough,  Ticonderoga  or 
Crown  Point,  with  orders  to  take  up  all  those  wiio  were  passing  from  either  of  these 
garrisons,  and  send  to  us  to  be  examined ;  and  that  all  who  were  passing  towards 
these  garrisons,  from  us,  should  be  stopped,  so  that  no  intelligeuce  should  go  from 
us  to  the  garrisons  ;  aud,  on  Sunday  night,  the  seventh  of  May,  we  all  arrived  at 
Cassel  Town  (Castleton),  the  place  where  we  had  appointed  for  the  men  nU  to 
meet ;  and  on  Monday,  the  8th  of  May,  the  Committee  all  got  together,  to  conclude 
in  what  method  we  would  proceed,  in  order  to  accomplish  bur  design,  of  which 
Committee  I  was  chairman. 

And,  after  debating  on  the  different  methods  to  proceed,  and  in  what  manner 
to  retreat,  in  case  of  a  repulse,  we  resolved  and  voted,  that  we  would  proceed  In 
the  following  manner,  viz. :  That  a  party  of  thirty  men,  under  tht  command  of 


106 

Capt.  Herrick,  should,  the  next  day,  in  the  afternoon,  take  Into  custody  Major 
Skene  and  his  party,  and  boats ;  and  that  the  rest  of  the  men,  which  consisted  of 
about  140,  should  go  through  Shorcham  to  the  lake,  opposite  to  Ticonderoga ;  and 
that  a  part  of  the  men  that  went  to  Skenesborough  should,  lu  the  night  follow- 
ing, go  down  the  lake,  by  Ticouderoga,  in  the  boats,  to  Shorcham,  in  order  to 
carry  men  across  the  lake  to  Ticonderoga.  We  also  sent  Capt.  Douglass  to  go  to 
Crown  Point,  and  see  if  he  could  not  agree  with  his  brother-in-law,  who  lived 
there,  to  hire  the  king's  boats,  on  some  stratagem,  and  send  up  the  lake  from  there, 
to  assist  in  carrying  over  our  meu.  It  was  further  agreed  that  Col.  Ethan  Allen 
should  have  the  command  of  the  party  that  should  go  against  Ticonderoga,  agree- 
able to  my  promise  made  to  the  men  when  I  engaged  them  to  go,  that  they  should 
be  commanded  by  their  own  officers. 

In  the  evening,  after  the  party  that  was  to  go  to  Skenesborough  was  drafted 
out,  and  Col.  Allen  was  gone  to  Mr.  Wcsscii's,  In  Shoreham,  to  meet  some  men 
who  were  to  come  in  there,  having  received  his  orders,  at  what  time  he  must  be 
ready,  and  must  take  possession  of  the  garrison  of  Ticonderoga, — the  whole  plan 
being  settled  by  a  vote  of  the  Committee. 

In  the  evening,  Col.  Arnold  came  to  us,  with  his  orders,  and  demanded  the 
command  of  our  people,  as  he  said  we  had  no  proper  orders.  We  told  him  we 
could  not  surrender  the  command  to  him,  as  our  people  were  ra'sed  on  condition 
that  they  should  be  commanded  by  their  own  officers.  He  persisted  iu  his  de- 
maud,  and  the  next  morning  he  proceeded  forward  to  overtake  Col.  Allen.  1  was 
then  with  the  party  that  was  going  to  Skenesborough,  a  mile  and  a  half  distance 
from  the  other  party.  When  Col.  Arnold  went  after  Col.  Allen,  the  whole  party 
followed  him,  for  fear  he  should  prevail  on  Col.  Allen  to  resign  the  command,  and 
left  all  the  provisions,  so  that  I,  with  Capt.  Phelps  and  Babcock,  was  obliged  to 
leave  the  party  that  I  was  with,  and  go  with  the  pack-horses  with  the  provisions, 
and  could  not  overtake  them  till  the  first  division  had  crossed  the  lake.  Wc 
followed  them,  as  soon  as  the  boats  got  back,  and  when  we  got  over,  they  were  iu 
possession  of  the  fort.  We  entered  the  fort  immediately,  and  soon  got  the  Regu- 
lar troops  under  guard,  and  their  arms  all  in  our  possession.  This  was  done  on 
Wednesday,  the  10th  of  May.  After  which.  Col.  Arnold  challenged  the  command 
again,  and  insisted  that  Le  had  a  right  to  have  it ;  on  which,  our  soldiers  again 
paraded,  and  declared  that  they  would  go  right  home,  lor  they  would  not  be  com- 
manded by  Arnold.  We  told  them  they  shouid  not,  and  at  length  pacified  them ; 
and  then  reasoned  with  Arnold,  and  told  him,  as  he  had  not  raised  any  men,  he 
could  not  expect  to  have  the  command  of  ours.  He  still  insisted  that,  as  we  had  no 
legal  orders  to  show,  Le  had  a  right  to  take  the  command.  On  which  1  wrote  Col. 
Allen  his  orders,  as  followeth,  viz. :  /  , 

To  Col.  Ethan  Allen :—  .    '  ' 

Sir, —  Whereas,  agreeable  to  the  Power  and  Authority  to  us  given  by  the 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  we  have  appointed  you  to  take  the  command  of  a  party 
of  men,  and  reduce  and  take  possession  of  the  garrison  of  Ticonderoga  and  its 
dependencies.    And,  as  you  are  now  in  possession  of  the  same,  you  are  hereby 

8 


106 

directed  to  keep  the  eommancl  of  said  garrison,  for  the  use  of  the  American 
Colonies,  till  you  have  further  orders  from  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  or  from  tho 
Continental  Congress. 

Signed  per  order  of  the  Comraittcc, 

EDWAKD  MOTT,  Chairman  of  Committee:' 
Ticonderoga,  May  10th,  1775. 


NUMBEii  IX.    Page  33. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Allen  was  one  of  the  most  active  patriots  in  Wcstcn  Massa- 
chusetts. He  was  a  native  of  Northampton,  and  the  first  minister  settled  in  Pitts- 
field.  On  the  30th  of  June,  1774,  he  was  made  Chairman  of  a  Standing  Committee 
of  Safety  and  Correspondence  for  the  town,  in  which  position  his  correspondence 
exhibits  great  vigilance  and  zeal  in  the  Revolutionary  cause.  He  was  active  in 
promoting  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga,  and  the  next  year  he  acted  as 
chaplain  in  the  army,  at  White  Plains,  under  Washington,  and  afterwards  officiated 
in  the  same  capacity  at  Ticonderoga.  In  August,  1777,  he  went  with  a  volunteer 
company  of  militia  from  Pittslicld  to  Bennington,  and  took  an  active  part  in  tho 
battle  that  ensued.  "Reporting  himself  to  General  Stark,  he  was  forthwith  ap- 
pointed chaplain,  and  there  are  those  who  yet  express  their  belief  in  the  efficacy  of 
a  prayer  before  the  army,  on  the  morning  of  the  action,  which  ascended  from  the 
fervent  lips  of  Mr.  Allen.  Among  the  reinforcements  from  Berkshire  County,  says 
Edward  Everett,  in  his  Life  of  Stark,  came  a  clergyman,  with  a  portion  of  his 
flock,  resolved  to  make  bare  the  arm  of  flesh  against  the  enemies  of  his  country. 
Before  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  he  addressed  the  Commander  as 
follows :  '  We,  the  people  of  Berkshire,  have  frequently  been  called  upon  to  fight, 
but  have  never  been  led  against  the  enemy.  We  have  now  resolved,  if  you  will 
not  let  us  fight,  never  to  turn  out  again.'  General  Stark  asked  him  '  if  he  wisherl 
to  march  then,  when  it  was  dark  and  raining? '  '  No,'  was  the  answer.  'Then,' 
continued  Stark, '  if  the  Lord  should  once  more  give  us  sunshine,  and  I  do  not 
give  you  fighting  enough,  I  will  never  ask  you  to  come  again ! '  The  weather 
cleared  up  iu  the  course  of  the  day,  and  the  men  of  Berkshire  followed  their 
spiritual  guide  into  action. 

Before  the  attack  was  commenced,  being  posted  opposite  to  that  wing  of  tho 
enemy  which  was  principally  composed  of  refugees,  who  had  joined  the  invaders, 
Mr.  Allen  advanced  in  front  of  our  militia,  and  in  a  voice  distinctly  heard  by  them, 
exhorted  the  enemy  to  lay  down  their  arms,  assuring  them  of  good  quarters,  and 
warning  them  of  the  consequences  of  refusal.  Having  performed  what  he  con- 
sidered a  religious  duty,  and  being  fired  upon,  he  resumed  his  place  in  the  ranks, 
and,  when  the  signal  was  given,  was  among  the  foremost  in  attacking  the  enemy. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Mr.  Allen  was  recognized  by  some  of  these  refugees ; 
for  there  were  a  very  few  men  of  this  description  from  Pittsfleld  and  other  parts 
of  Berkshire,  and  that  they  said:  "There  is  Parson  Allen;  let  us  pop  him  I" 
There  is  also  a  tradition,  that  when  he  was  fired  upon,  and  tho  bullets  of  the 
enemy  where  whistling  about  him,  be  jumped  down  from  the  rock  or  stump  on 


107 

which  he  had  stood,  and  cried  out ;  "  Now,  boys,  let  us  ffive  it  to  them ! "  and 
immediately  said  fo  his  brother  Josejil),  l)y  his  side  :  "  You  load,  and  I  will  fire!  " 
Being  aslced  who -her  he  killed  a  man,  he  replied:  "He  did  not  know;  but  that 
observing  a  flash  often  repeated  in  a  bush  near  by,  which  seemed  to  be  succeeded 
each  time  by  a  full  of  some  of  our  men,  he  levelled  his  musket,  and  firing  in  that 
direction,  he  put  out  that  flash!  '' 

Dr.  Field,  from  whose  sketch  of  Pittsfleld  the  foregoing  is  extracted,  says  that 
Mr.  Allen  contiuu  d  iu  the  ministry  until  his  death,  which  took  place  on  the  11th 
of  February,  1810,  at  the  age  of  fixty-seven  years. 

Ue  had  twelve  children,  nine  sous  and  three  daughters.  One  of  his  sons.  Rev. 
William  Allen,  D.  i).,  succeeued  his  fiither  iu  the  ministry  at  PittsHeld,  and  was 
the  autiior  of  Allen's  Biographical  Dictionary.  Another  son,  Solomon  Metcalf 
Allen,  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  in  1813,  studied  Theology,  but  was  appointed 
Professor  of  the  Ancient  Languages,  at  Middlebury,  in  1816,  and  lost  his  life  by  an 
accident  iu  the  following  year. 


NUMBER  X.    Page  37. 

Major  Gershom  Beach,  of  Rutland,  Vermout,  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  and 
energetic  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  After  the  arrival  of  the  expedition  at 
Shorcham,  Captain  Noah  Phelps,  of  Simsbury,  Conn.,  who  had  been  sent  forward 
to  reconnoitre  the  fort,  joined  the  party,  and  reported  tha.  the  fort  was  in  a  com- 
paratively di-(enseles8  condition, — the  men  not  being  on  their  guard,  and  their 
ammunition  damaged.  Allen  immediately  dispatched  Major  Beach  to  collect  men, 
and  direct  them  to  join  the  expedition  at  Hand's  Point.  Goodhue,  in  his  "  History 
of  Shorcham,"  p.  13,  says :  "  Beach  went  on  foot  to  Rutland,  Pittsford,  Brandon, 
Middlebury,  Whiting  and  Shorcham,  making  a  circuit  of  sixty  miles  in  twenty, 
four  hours." 

Major  Beach  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Major  Skene,  and  was  at  Skenes- 
bor6ugh  on  Saturday  before  Skene  was  captured.  The  Major  consulted  with  Beach 
about  rebuilding  the  forts  at  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  etc.,  and  told  him  his 
father  was  coming  out  with  a  commission  as  Governor  of  the  country,  and 
authority  to  repair  all  tlic  defenses.  Beach  replied  that  he  thought  he  would  have 
difficulty  in  raising  men,  as  the  men  would  have  business  at  Boston!  Skene  was 
soon  relieved  of  all  difficulty  on  this  score,  for  on  the  followiug  Tuesday  he  waa 
captured  and  sent  to  Connecticut. 


NUMBER  XI.    Page  42. 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  Zadock  Thompson's  "  Gazetteer  of  Ver- 
mont," Part  Second,  p.  33 : 

"  While  they  were  collecting  at  Castleton,  Colonel  Arnold  arrived  there, 
attended  only  by  a  servant.  This  officer  had  been  cliosen  captain  by  an  inde- 
pendant  company  at  New  Haven,  in  Connecticut,  and,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the 
battle  at  Lexington,  he  marched  his  company  to  Cambridge,  where  the  Americans 


108 

were  assembling  to  invest  Boston.  There,  he  received  a  colonel's  commission 
fVom  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety,  with  orders  to  raise  fonr  hundred 
men  for  the  reduction  ol  Tlcondcroga  and  Crown  Point,  which  he  represented  to 
bo  iu  a  ruinous  condition,  and  feebly  garrisoned.  His  commission  being  examined, 
Arnold  was  permitted  to  join  the  .party ;  but  it  was  ordered  by  a  council  that 
Allen  should  also  have  the  commission  of  Colonel,  and  should  be  tirst  in  command. 

"  To  procure  intelligence,  Captain  Noah  Phelps,  one  of  the  gentlemen  from 
Connecticut,  went  into  the  fort  at  Tlcondcroga,  in  the  habit  of  one  of  the  settlers, 
where  he  enquired  for  a  barber,  under  the  pretence  of  wanting  to  be  shaved.  By 
affecting  an  awkward  appearance,  and  asking  many  simple  questions,  he  passed 
unsuspected,  and  had  a  favorable  opportunity  of  observing  the  condition  of  the 
works.  Having  obtained  the  necessary  information,  he  returned  to  the  party,  and 
the  same  night  they  began  their  march  for  the  fort.  And  these  affairs  had  been 
conducted  with  so  much  expedition,  that  Alien  reached  Orwell,  opposite  to  Tlcon- 
dcroga, with  his  men,  in  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  May,  while  the  garrison  were 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  proceedings,  and  without  any  apprehension  of  a 
hostile  visit. 

"  The  whole  force  collected  on  this  occasion  amounted  to  270  men,  of  whom 
930  were  Green  Mountain  Boys.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  boats  could  be  obtained 
to  carry  over  the  troops.  A  Mr.  Douglass  was  sent  to  Bridport  to  procure  aid  in 
men,  and  a  scow  belonging  to  Mr.  Smith.  Douglass  stopped  by  the  way  to  enlist 
a  Mr.  Chapman  in  the  enterprise,  when  James  Wilcox  and  Joseph  Tyler,  two 
young  men  who  were  a-bed  in  the  chamoer,  hearing  the  story,  conceived  the  design 
of  decoying  on  shore  a  large  oar-boat  belonging  to  Major  Skene,  and  which  then 
lay  off  against  Willow  Point.  They  dressed,  seized  their  guns  and  jug  of  rum,  of 
which  they  knew  the  black  commander  to  be  extremely  fond,— gathered  four  men 
as  they  went,  and  arriving  all  armed,  they  hailed  the  boat,  and  offered  to  help  row 
it  to  Shoreham,  if  he  would  carry  them  immediately,  to  join  a  hunting  party  that 
would  be  waiting  for  them.  The  stratagem  succeeded,  and  poor  Jack  and  his  two 
men  suspected  nothing,  till  they  arrived  at  Allen's  headquarters,  and  were  made 
prisoners  of  war. 

Douglass  arrived  with  the  scow  about  the  same  time,  and  some  other  boats 
having  been  collected,  Allen  embarked  with  83  men,  and  lauded  near  the  fort." 

The  Willow  Point,  near  which  Major  Skene's  boat  lay,  must  not  be  confounded 
with  another  point  of  the  same  name,  about  a  half  mile  north  of  the  fort,  upon 
which  Allen  and  his  men  made  their  landing.  The  first  Willow  Point  is  on  the 
eastern,  or  Vermont  shore,  nearly  opposite  Crown  Point,  and  in  the  northwesterly 
corner  of  the  town  of  Bridport.  The  other  is  on  the  west,  or  New  York  side,  a 
little  south  of  Hand's  Cove,  where  the  expedition  embarked. — See  Goodhue's  Hist, 
Shoreham,  p.  16. 


NUMBER  XII,    Page  44. 

There  has  been  much  confusion  in  relation  to  the  true  date  of  the  captnre  of 
Crown  Point.  Arnold,  writing  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety,  on  the 
lltb,  says : 


109 

•'Thopartyl  advised  were  gone  to  Crown  Point,  are  returned,  having  met 
with  head  winds,  and  that  expedition,  and  talcing  the  sloop,  is  entirely  laid  aside." 
Arnold  must  have  known  this  statement  to  be  false  when  he  penned  it.  Ira  Allen, 
who  was  in  the  expedition  against  Ticondcroga,  in  his  "  History  of  Vermont,"  p. 
59,  says,  after  describing  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  "  a  party  was  sent  by  water, 
as  soon  as  possible,  to  Crown  Point,  under  the  command  ol  Captain  Warner. 
Previous  to  this,  Colonel  Allen  had  sent  orders  to  Captain  Baker,  of  Onion  River, 
forty  miles  north  of  Crown  Point,  to  come  with  his  company  and  assist ;  and, 
though  belated,  yet  he  met  and  took  two  small  boats  on  their  way  to  give  the 
alarm  to  Fort  8t.  John.  Captain  Warner  and  Baker  appeared  before  Crown  Point 
nearly  at  the  same  time ;  the  garrison,  having  only  few  men,  surrendered  without 
opposition."  It  has  been  commonly  supposed  that  Warner  left  on  the  morning  of 
the  10th,  soon  after  the  capture  of  Ticondcroga,  and  that  Crown  Point  was  taken 
on  the  same  day.  The  following  letter,  however,  now  in  the  possession  of  Hon. 
L,  Hebard,  of  Lebanon,  Conn.,  just  published  in  "  The  Dartmouth  Magazine,"  for 
May,  1872,  fixes  the  date  of  the  capture  of  Crown  Point  beyond  question : 

"  Head  Quarters,  Crown  Point,  12th  May,  1775. 
Gent. —  Yesterday,  we  took  possession  of  this  garrison  in  the  name  of  the 
country, — we  found  great  quantyties  of  ordnance,  stores,  &c.  Very  little  pro- 
vision. We  have  had  parties  o«t  several  days,  watching  every  passage  to  Canady, 
by  land  and  water.  Have  taken  two  mails ;  have  not  examined  them  very  par- 
ticularly; find  nothing  material  in  English, — some  letters  in  French  and  High 
Dutch  which  we  could  »ot  read.  The  bearer,  Mr.  Levi  Allen,  has  this  moment 
returned  from  a  party  that  was  watching  the  lake,  to  stop  any  news  going  to 
Canady,  as  we  want  to  have  sloop  return  from  St.  Johns,  and  make  a  prize  of  her. 
She  will  be  well  loaded.  Allen  informs  us  a  bark  canoe  has  been  seen  standing 
for  Canady,  three  miles  north  of  his  station  on  the  lake,  by  which  means,  we  sup- 
pose. Gov.  Carlton  will  hear  what  we  have  done,  before  this  comes  to  hand.  He 
is  a  man-of-war ;  you  can  guess  what  measures  he  will  take.  We  determine  to 
fight  them  three  to  one,  but  he  can  bring  ten  to  one,  and  more.  We  should  be  glad 
of  assistance  of  men,  provisions  and  powder,  and  beg  your  advice  whether  we 
shall  abandon  this  place  and  retire  to  Ticonderoga,  or  proceed  to  St.  Johns,  &c., 
<fcc.    The  latter  we  should  be  fondest  of.    We  are,  Gen'l,,  yours  to  command, 

SETH  WARNER, 
PELEG  SUNDERLAND, 
To  His  Hon.  the  Governor  and  Council 
and  Gen.  Assembly  Connecticut." 


NUMBER  XIII.    Page  44. 

ETHAN  ALLBM  TO  THE  ALBANY  OOMUITTBR. 

Ticonderoga,  May  11th,  1775. 
Gentlemen: — I  have  the  Inexpressible  satisfaction  to  acquaint  you,  that,  at 
daybreak  of  the  tenth  instant,  pursuant  to  my  directions  from  sundry  leading 


110 

gentlemen  of  Massachusetts  liny  nnd  Connecticut,  I  took  the  fortress  of  Tir..nder- 
oga,  with  iil)out  one  hundred  and  tliirty  Green  Mountain  Hoys.  Colonel  jMston, 
with  about  forty-seven  valiant  soidieis,  distlniiuished  tliemseives  in  the  action. 
Colonel  Arnold  entered  the  fortrcbs  with  uic,  side  by  side.  The  guard  was  so  sur- 
prised, that  contrary  to  expectation,  tlicy  did  not  lire  on  uh,  but  retreated  with 
precipitancy.  Wc  imiuediately  entered  the  fortress,  and  took  the  garrison 
prisoners,  without  bloodshed  or  nny  opposition.  Tliey  consisted  of  one  captain 
and  a  lieutenant,  and  forty-two  men. 

Little  more  need  bo  said.  You  know  Govcmour  Carlton,  of  Canada,  will 
exert  himself  to  retake  it ;  and,  as  your  county  is  nearer  than  any  otlier  part  of 
the  Cohinies,  and  as  your  inhabitants  have  thoroughly  manifested  their  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  the  country,  I  expect  immediate  assistance  Irom  you,  both  in  men  and 
provisions.  You  cannot  exert  yourself  t  >o  much  in  so  glorious  a  cause.  The 
number  of  men  need  be  more  at  first,  till  tbo  other  Colonies  can  hare  time  to 
muster.  I  am  apprehensive  of  a  sudden  and  <iuiek  attack.  Pray  be  quick  to  our 
relief,  and  send  us  Ave  hundred  men  immediately  ;  fail  not. 
From  your  friend  and  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN,  Commander  of  Ticonderoga. 

Abraham  Yates,  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  Albany. 


NUMBER  XIV.    Page  48. 

BTHAN  ALLEN   TO  THE  MA88ACUUSETTS  CONGUESS. 

TicoNDEKOGA,  May  11, 1775. 
Genti.emen  : — 

I  have  to  inform  you,  with  pleasure  nnfclt  before,  that  on  the  break  of  day  of 
tenth  of  May,  177.5,  by  the  order  oi'  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  Con- 
necticut, 1  took  the  Fortress  of  Ticonderoga  by  storm.  The  soidiei'y  waseomi)08ed 
of  about  one  hundred  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  near  fifty  veteran  soldiers  from 
the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  latter  was  imder  the  command  of  Colonc] 
James  Easton,  who  behaved  with  great  zeal  and  foititude,— not  only  in  council, 
but  in  the  assault.  The  soldiery  behaved  with  such  resistless  fury,  tliat  they  so 
terrified  the  King's  troops,  that  they  durst  not  fire  on  tlieir  assailants,  and  our 
soldiery  was  agreeably  disappointed.  The  soldiery  behaved  with  uncommon 
rancour  when  they  leaped  into  the  Fort ;  and,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  the  Colonel 
has  greatly  contributed  to  the  taking  of  that  fortress,  as  well  as  John  Brotcn,  Esq., 
attorney  at  law,  who  was  also  an  able  couusellor,  and  was  personally  In  the  attack. 
I  expect  the  Colonics  willmalutaln  this  fort.  As  to  the  cannon  and  warlike  stores, 
1  hope  they  may  serve  the  cause  of  liberty,  instead  of  tyranny,  and  I  humbly  im- 
plore your  asaistauce  in  immediately  assisting  the  Government  of  Connecticut  in 
establishing  a  garrison  in  the  reduced  premises.  Colonel  Easton  will  inform  you 
at  large.    From,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 
To  the  Honorable  Congress  of  the  Province  > 

of  Massachusetts  Bay,  or  Council  of  War.  * 


Ill 

NVMBER  XV.      Page  50. 

COLONEL  ETUAN  ALLBN   TO   GOVEHNOK  THUMnULL. 

TicoNDEuooA,  latli  Miiy,  1775. 
Hon'dle  Sir  :— I  make  you  a  present  of  a  Major,  a  Cuptiiiii  and  two  Lieuten- 
anta  in  the  regular  EstabliHhuieut  of  George  the  Third.  I  liope  they  may  serve  as 
ransoms  for  some  of  our  friends  at  Boston,  and  particularly  for  Capt.  Brown,  of 
Rhode  Island.  A  party  of  men,  under  the  command  of  Capt,  Herriek,  has  took 
possession  of  Skenesborougli,  imprisoned  Major  Skene,  and  seized  a  schooner  of 
ills.  I  expect,  in  ten  days'  time,  to  have  it  rigged,  manned  and  armed  with  six  or 
eight  pieces  of  cannon,  which,  with  the  boats  in  our  possession,  I  purpose  to  make 
an  attack  on  the  armed  sloop  of  George  the  Third,  which  la  now  cruising  on  Lake 
Champlaln,  and  Is  about  twice  as  big  as  the  schooner.  I  hope  in  a  short  time  to 
be  authorized  to  acquaint  your  Honour,  that  Lake  Champlaln,  and  the  fortlUcations 
thereon,  are  subjiict  to  the  Colonies. 

The  enterprise  has  been  approbated  by  the  offlcers  and  soldiery  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  nor  do  I  hesitate  as  to  the  success.  I  expect  lives  must  be  lost  in 
the  attack,  as  the  commander  of  George's  sloop  is  a  man  of  courage,  etc. 

Messrs.  Hickok,  Halsey  and  Nichols  have  the  charge  of  conducting  the 
Officers  to  Hartford.  These  gentlemen  have  been  very  assiduous  and  active  in  the 
late  expedition. 

I  depend  upon  your  Honour's  aid  and  assistance  in  a  situation  so  coniiguous 
to  Canada. 

I  subscribe  myself,  your  Honour's  ever  faithful, 

Most  obedient  and  humble  Servant, 
ETHAN  ALLEN,  At  present  Commander  of  Ticonderoga, 
To  the  Hon'ble  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Esq., 

Capt.  General  and  Goveruour  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut. 


COMMISSARY  ELISHA  PHELPS   TO  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OP  CONNECTICUT. 

Skenesbokough,  J'ay  10th,  177.5. 
To  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  Cotmectietit,  in  New  England, 
America,  now  sitting  at  Hartford : 
Gentlemen  of  the  House;— 1  now  would  endeavor  to  state  before  you  the 
situation  of  affairs  of  these  northern  frontiers,  and  the  army  and  fort,  and  our  pro- 
ceedings from  the  beginning.  When  we  left  Hartford,  our  orders  was  to  repair  to 
the  Grants  of  New  Hampshire,  and  raise  an  army  of  men,  aa  we  thought  proper, 
to  go  and  take  the  Fort  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  Major  Skene,  etc.,  and 
to  destroy  the  fort,  or  ki^'p  it,  and  send  an  express  to  Albany,  and  see  if  they 
would  keep  it ;  or  send  to  the  Colony  of  Connecticut.  Upon  which  orders  we 
went  to  Pittsfleld,  and  Col.  Easton  and  Capt.  Douglass  [Dickenson?]  joined  us 
with  about  sixtj'  men  ;  and  we  pursued  to  Bennington,  and  met  Col.  Allen,  who 
was  much  pleased  with  the  intended  expedition,  and  we  agreed  he  should  get  one 
hundred  men.  We  sent  forward  to  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  Capt.  Noah 
Phelps  a ud  Mr.  Hickok,  to  reconnoitre  and  sec  what  discovery  they  could  make 


112 

wliK  met  ns  at  Castleton— who  informcl  us  tlint  the  rcgiUnrs  wog  not  any  ways 
oppriHcd  of  our  coming.  To  which,  the  army  ])ur8ucd  on,  anil  on  the  10th  day  of 
7Iuy  indtant,  toak  Fort  Ticondcroga,  and  also  Mi\jor  Skene,  and  have  seut  them, 
with  proper  guards,  to  Hartford.  There  1h,  at  the  fort,  about  200  men,— lu  a  fort 
of  broken  walls  and  gates,  and  but  few  cannon  In  order,  and  very  much  out  of 
repair, — and  In  a  great  quarrel  with  Col.  Arnold,  who  shall  command  the  lort,  even 
that  some  of  the  soldiers  threaten  the  life  of  Col.  Arnold.  Major  Skene's  estate 
we  have  put  Into  the  care  of  Capt.  Noah  Lee,  a  man  of  good  character,  and  capable 
of  taking  care  of  the  business  well.  The  people  on  the  Grants  are  In  much  dis- 
tress for  want  of  provisions.  The  Iron  work  must  be  carried  on  foi  the  benefit  of 
the  people  here  ;  but  It  would  not  do,  by  no  means,  to  have  Mr.  Brook  stay  here, 
as  he  was  looked  upon  to  be  a  bigger  enemy  to  his  country  than  Mijor  Skene,  and 
'tis  an  easy  matter  to  send  an  Indian  to  Canada,  and  inform  them  all  our  schemes 
and  plans.    One  enemy  in  the  eity  is  worse  than  ten  outside. 

News  I  have,  by  a  credible  man  as  any  in  these  parts  (by  name,  Oershom  Beach 
of  Rutland),  and  who  has  been  one  of  Major  Skene's  best  friends,  but  loves  him- 
self and  country  better, — who  told  mo  he  was  at  the  Major's  on  Saturday,  before 
the  Major  was  taken  (who  was  taken  Tuesday) ;  that  his  father  had  sent  him  a 
letter,  and  shewed  it  to  him,  which  Informed  the  you  ig  Major  that  he  had  married 
to  a  lady  of  fortune,  of  torty-threc  thousand  pound  sterling,  and  that  he  had  a  com- 
mission in  chief  over  Fort  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  and  Fort  George ;  also* 
the  Major  asked  Mr.  Beach  about  rebuilding  the  forts.  Mr.  Beach  told  him  he 
could  not  get  men  enough,  as  they  would  be  at  Boston.  The  Major  replied,  his 
father  had  a  thousand  men  coming  with  him,  and  was  to  have  been  here  by  the 
first  day  of  May  instant.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  must  beg  liberty  to  offer  my  humble 
opinion,  which  is,  that  not  less  than  three  thousand  men  be  sent  here  immediately, 
and  to  push  on  to  St.  Johns  and  Canada,  and  secure  them  forts,  and,  in  doing  that, 
secure  the  Canadians  and  Indians  on  our  side,  and  rescue  the  frontier  from  the  rage 
of  the  savages ;  and  for  another  small  army  to  go  to  Detroit,  etc.  Begging  pardon 
for  directing  any  in  these  affairs. 

Now,  gentlemen,  as  we  have  done  the  business  we  was  sent  to  do,  must  pray 
that  you  would  send  me  special  orders,  whether  I  shoulc"  provide  any  longer  for 
the  army,  on  the  Colony  of  Connecticut's  cost,  or  not.  As  I  was  appointed  by  the 
Committee,  of  which  I  had  the  honor  to  be  one,  to  be  commissary  of  the  army,  I 
am  determined  to  go  to  New  City  and  Albany,  and  secure  some  provision,  and  wait 
for  furtlier  orders  from  the  Assembly. 

I  dined  with  three  Indians  this  day,  who  belonged  to  Stockbridge,  sent  by  Mr. 
Edwards,  and  a  number  of  other  gentlemen  of  that  town,  to  Canada,  to  see  if  they 
can  find  out  the  temper  of  the  Canada  Indians.  I  also  saw  a  young  gentleman 
A'om  Albany,  that  says  they  disapproved  of  our  proceeding  in  taking  the  fort,  in 
that  we  did  not  acquaint  them  of  it  before  that  it  was  done.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
well  if  some  gentlemen  should  wait  on  the  Congress  at  New  York,  so  as  to  keep 
peace  with  them.  N.  B.  We  did  inform  the  Gentlemen  Committee  of  Albany  of 
our  proceedings,  which  you  will  see  by  a  letter  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  Mott. 

Gentlemen,  I  am,  with  esteem,  your  very  humble  Servant  to  command, 

ELISHA  PHELPS." 


113 

It  would,  probably,  have  Bavod  the  Colonics  tbo  dlsaittcre  of  tbo  next  antnmn 
and  wliitor,  Inciudlug  tlio  Iobh  of  (iciicrul  Moiitj^oincry  and  tbo  ijreatcr  part  of  bin 
urniy,  If  tbo  earnest  counsels  of  tbls  letter,  and  of  Etban  Allen,  in  favor  of  an 
Inimudiutc  invasion  of  Canada,  biid  been  followed.  Tbere  seems  little  doul)t  tbat 
tbe  people  of  Canada  syiupatblziHl  witb  tlie  luovemcntH  of  tbe  Colonies,  and  nii>,'bt 
easily  bave  been  Induced  to  Join  witb  tbeni  in  resistance  to  Great  Britain.  But  tbo 
Couiineutal  Conjfress  was  not  ripo  for  sucb  a  movement.  It  oven  apoloj^izud  to 
tbo  people  of  Canada  for  tbo  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  and,  on  tbo  2!Hb  of  May, 
adopted  an  address  to  tbcm,  in  wbleb  tbey  say,  "  tbat  tbe  tailing  of  tbe  fort  and 
military  stores  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Foint,  and  tbo  armed  vessels  on  the 
lake,  was  dictated  by  Ibc  great  law  of  solf-prescrvutlon.  Tbey  were  Intended  to 
annoy  us,  and  to  cut  oil'  tbat  friendly  intercourse  and  communication  wbleb  bas 
bilberto  subsisted  between  us.  We  bope  It  bas  given  you  no  uneasiness,"  etc. 
And,  on  tbe  llrst  of  June,  tbo  same  Congress  resolved,  "  Tbat  no  expedition  or 
incursion  ougbt  to  bo  undertaken  or  made  by  any  Colony,  or  body  of  Colonists, 
against  or  into  Canada."  An  invasion  at  tbat  time  would  probably  bave  met  with 
little  active  resistance. 

Tbe  elder  Skene,  referred  to  in  tbe  foregoing  letter,  was  captured  on  the 
arrival  of  tbo  vessel  from  London  in  wbicb  be  took  passage,  and  sent  to  Pbila- 
delpbla.  On  the  8tb  of  June,  tbo  Continental  Congress  being  informed  "  that  the 
said  Skene  has  lately  been  appointed  Governor  of  tbe  Forts  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,"  and  apprehending  that  ho  was  "  a  dangerous  partisan  of  Adminis- 
tration," appointed  a  committee  to  examine  bis  papers  ;  and,  on  tbe  5th  of  July, 
"  it  appearing  tbat  Gov.  Philip  Skene  and  Mr.  Lundy  have  designs  inimical  to 
America,"  tbey  were  ordered  to  bo  sent  to  Connecticut,  and  placed  In  charge  of 
Gov.  Trumbull,  as  prisoners  of  war. — See  Journals  of  Cont.  Congress,  1775,  pp. 
114,  142. 


NUMBER  XVI.    Page  51. 
See  American  Bibliopolist,  Vol.  III.,  No.  36,  p.  491.    Dec.  1871. 

Tbls  account,  published  in  the  Worcester  Spy,  May  17, 1755,  endorsed  by  the 
editor  as  being  "  furnished  by  a  correspondent  whoso  veracity  can  be  depended 
upon,"  is  probably  the  earliest  published  cotemporary  account  of  the  capture.  It  is 
one  week  earlier  than  that  of  Colonel  Easton  in  tbe  same  newspaper,  and  appears 
to  bo  the  source  from  which  the  London  magazines  of  the  time  made  np  their 
it.'.ms.  The  Bibliopolist  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  reproducing  a  piece  of  impor- 
tant evidence,  which  has  not  been  cited  since  the  controversy  respecting  Ticon- 
deroga bos  arisen.    The  account  is  as  follows : 

"  Col.  James  Easton  and  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  having  raised  about  150  men  for 
tbe  purpose,  agreeable  to  a  plan  formed  in  Connecticut,  detached  a  party  of  about 
thirty  men  to  go  to  Skenesborough,  and  take  into  custody  Major  Skene  and  his 
party  of  regular  soldiers ;  and,  witb  the  remainder,  having  crossed  the  lake  in  boats 
in  the  night,  and  landed  about  half  a  mile  from  said  fortress,  immediately  marched, 


114 

with  KfcatHlluiicc,  lo  ihu  pitcH  of  tlic  I'uiliVHa, und  at  l)t'eiik  of  day,  May  lOtli,  iiiado 
thu  iiriMuult  with  ^I'cat  iiitrupldlly,— our  inuii  darling  like  llji^litiilni;'  upon  tliu 
(i;uard)i,  ^avu  tlu'iii  but  Ju»l  tlinu  to  anap  two  ^unit  tit  our  uiuu  hutbru  tht-y  took 
thcni  piiHoiicrH.  Thia  wait  liiiiiicdlatoly  followed  hy  thu  induction  of  the  fort  and 
itH  depuudonulL'M.  About  4U  of  tl^u  Kind's  troops  arc  taken  jiiiHonerM  (Inehidln); 
ouu  captiilu,  one  lluutuimnt,  uud  Inferior  olIleerM),  wiih  a  number  of  wuiuun  uud 
children  Itelon^^lng  to  the  soldiery  at  this  ^jarrlwon.  Major  Skene  and  the  whole  of 
Lis  i)arly  arc  also  taken.  The  i)rlsonerB  are  now  under  nuard,  on  their  way  to 
Hartford,  where  it  ia  probable  tliey  will  arrive  the  latter  end  ol  this  week.  Thoao 
who  took  an  aecount  of  the  ordinance,  warlike  stores,  etc.,  |ud;;ed  It  ninounted  to 
no  less  than  i;;i(M),()00  in  value.  A  i)arty  was  Iniinedlalely  detached  to  take  possea- 
Blon  of  Crown  I'olnt,  where  no  great  opposition  was  expected  to  be  made.  As  tlio 
posaesslou  of  this  place  atforda  ua  a  key  to  all  Canada,  and  may  bu  of  lullulte  Im- 
portauco  to  us  In  future,  it  must  rejoice  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  tlieir  coiinlry, 
that  BO  noble  an  aciiuisltlon  was  made  without  the  loss  of  one  life,  and  is  certainly 
an  cueomium  ui)on  the  wisdom  nud  valour  of  the  Now  Englanders,  however  aomo 
tories  would  Iain  insinuate  lliat  they  will  not  light  nor  cncouuter  danger. 

g;^"  H  hat  think  ye  of  the  Yankees  nowf 

We  aro  told  there  are  about  lUU  piecea  of  cuuuou,  from  G  to  24  pouudurs  al 
Ticondcroga." 


NUMBER  XVII.    Page  53. 

PBTITION   OF  C.M'TAIN   DEI.AILACB. 

To  the  Honorable,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Governour  and  Company  of  the 
English  Colony  of  Connecticut,  in  Nkw  Enuland,  in  Amkuica,  now 
convened  at  IIautfokd  : 

The  menu)riai  of  Willium  Dvlaplace,  a  Captain  in  Ills  Miijesty's  Twenty-Sixth 
Regiment,  and  Commandant  of  the  Fort  and  garrison  of  Ticonderoyu,  in  behalf  of 
himself  and  tlie  oflicera  and  soldiers  under  his  command,  beg  leave  to  represent 
our  dillicult  situation  to  your  Honours,  and  petition  for  redress. 

Your  mcpioriallst  would  represent,  that  on  the  morning  of  the  tenth  of  May 
Instant,  the  garrison  of  the  Fortress  of  Ticondcroga,  in  tlie  i'rovinco  of  New  York, 
waa  surprised  by  a  party  of  armed  men,  under  the  command  ol  one  Ethan  Allen, 
consisting  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  who  had  taken  sucli  measures  clFcctu- 
ally  to  surprise  the  same,  that  very  little  resistance  could  be  made,  and  to  whom 
your  memorialists  were  obliged  to  surrender  as  prisoners  ;  and  overpowered  l)y  a 
superior  force,  and  disarmed,  and  by  said  Allen  ordered  immediately  to  be  sent  to 
Hartford,  ia  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  where  your  memorialists  are  detained  as 
prisoners  of  war, — consisting  of  olHcers,  forty  seven  private  soldiers  of  His 
Majesty's  troops,  bcsidca  women  and  cliiidren.  That  your  memorialists,  being 
ignorant  of  any  crime  by  tliem  committed,  wiicreby  tiicy  should  be  thus  taken 
and  held,  also  are  ignorant  by  what,  authority  siiid  Allen  tiius  took  them,  or  that 
they  arc  thus  detained  in  a  straugc  country,  and  at  a  distance  from  the  post  as- 


115 

bIkiipiI  tlicm  ;  tliim  know  not  In  wliat  ll;clit  llicy  inn  cnnRldcrcd  liy  your  Honours 
coiiHuiiiKMilly  kiK.w  not  wliiit  j);irt  to  net ;  would  ilieriilorn  unk  your  Ilououm' 
lulcri)OHltlon  nnd  protection,  und  order  that  they  bo  set  lU  liberty,  to  return  to  tho 
pout  from  wbciifii  tlicy  were  tiikcn,  or  to  join  the  re^ilnnut  to  wlilcli  Iby  t)(!oni{; 
or.  If  tliey  are  coUNldured  In  the  lljflit  of  prlsouerM  of  wiir,  your  Ilonouri*  would  bo 
pleiiMed  to  Hl^uily  the  Hnnio  to  Iheni,  nnd  by  whom  they  nro  dctulnod,  and  that 
your  HonourH  would  ullbrd  uh  your  fuvor  und  ])rote('llon  during  the  tlmu  wo  hLuU 
tarry  In  this  Colony  ;  und  your  meniorlallHls  Khali  ever  jiray. 

WILLIAM  DKLAl'LACK, 

Captain,  Commaiulant  Tkonderogn  Fort. 
IlABTFonD,  May  24, 1776. 


NUMliER  X  VIII.    Page  53, 

"  AUTHENTICK   ACCOUNT  OF  THE  TAKINO  OF  FOUTUKSSES  AT  TICONDEBOOA 
AND  CUOWN  I'OINT  UY  A   I'AIITY  OI-'  THE  CONNKCTICUT  FOKCE8. 

"  New  Youk,  May  18, 1775. 

"  Captain  lulwarrl  Mott  and  Captain  Noah  PhclpH  wet  out  from  llaiiford  on 
Saturilay,  the  Iwenty-ninth  of  April,  In  order  to  lake  post^es.sion  of  the  Fortress 
of  Ticonderoija,  and  tho  dependeuelew  thereto  belonging.  They  took  with  them 
from  Connvctivul  sixteen  men  unarmed,  and  murehed  privately  through  the 
country  till  theyeame  to  I'ittiifreld,  without  dincoverlng  their  design  to  any  person, 
till  they  fell  in  eomi)any  wilh  Colonel  Ethan  A/lcn,  Colonel  EnHton,  and  John 
Brown,  Ehci.,  who  engaged  to  Join  themMclves  to  Buld  Molt  and  Phelps,  and  to  ralso 
men  Hudleient  Ij  take  the  plaee  by  8urprli<e,  If  possible.  Aceordingly,  the  men 
were  raised,  and  proceeded,  as  directed  by  said  Mott  and  Phelps,  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen  commanding  the  soldiery.  On  Tuesday,  they  surprised  and  took  the  fortress, 
making  prisoners  the  Commandant  and  his  party.  On  Wednesday  morning  they 
possessed  themselves  of  Crown  Point,  taking  possession  of  the  ordinance  stores, 
consisting  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  pieces  of  cuuuon,  three  mortars,  sundry 
howitzers,  nnd  lUty  swivels,  etc. 

"7v^/(a«  ^//cH,  fearful  ol  an  attempt  from  Govcrnour  Carlefnn  to  retake  tho 
place,  has  written  to  the  Committee  ol'  Albany  for  u  supply  of  live  hundred  men 
and  provisions.  The  Committee,  however,  not  perceiving  themselves  competent 
to  deternjine  on  a  matter  of  so  much  importance,  requested  the  advice  of  our 
General  Committee,  who  referred  them,  and  immediately  despatched  an  express, 
to  the  Congress  now  sitting  at  Philadelphia." 


,  NUMBERS  XIX.  and  XX    Page  U. 

See  Number  VII.  of  this  Appendix,  where  the  authorship  of  this  letter  is 
referred  to.  The  letter  of  M.ay  9th,  written  by  Kev.  Thomas  Allen  to  General 
Pomeroy,  is  given  in  such  au  imperfect  form  in  the  "  Archives,"  that  I  give  it  here 


116 

In  full  from  Dr.  Field's  "  History  of  I'lttBllold,"  p.  75.  The  portions  llnllclnod  nro 
oinittud  liy  Mr.  Form,  who  prolmlily  t'ullowH  a  copy  publlMliud  at  thu  tlmo.  TUo 
liiiportiuico  uf  tbo  concluding  paraKrii|)b  1h  apparent. 

"PiTTHPiBi.D,  May  mil,  1775. 
Okn.  Pombkoy— Sir  ! 

/  nhall  esteem  it  a  yrent  happineia  if  I  can  communicate  any  intelligrncv.  to  you, 
Sir,  that  Khali  he  of  any  »ervicn  to  my  country.  In  my  lout,  1  wrote  to  you  of  the 
northern  oxpodltlon.  Hcforu  liio  week  ends,  wo  are  In  rained  hopes,  hero,  of  lieur- 
In^  that  TIeondcroffa  and  (Jrown  I'oliit  are  In  other  hands.  Whether  the  expc 
dition  f'niln  or  gucceedn,  I  will  send  you  the  moxt  early  intelliycnce,  aa  I  look  on  it  as 
an  affair  of  yrent  importance,  Holomou,  thu  Indian  king,  at  Htoekbrid^e,  woa 
lately  ut  Col.  KaHton'H,  of  thiH  town,  and  naid  there  that  the  Mohawks  had  not  only 
(i;avc  liberty  to  the  Hlockbridire  Indians  to  Join  us,  l)ut  had  sent  theiu  a  belt,  denot- 
ing that  tliey  would  hold  in  readiness  5U0  uien,  to  Join  us  iininediately  on  the  tirst 
notice,  and  that  the  said  Solomon  holds  an  Indian  post  in  actual  readiness  to  run 
with  the  news  as  soon  as  tliey  shall  be  wantinl.  Should  the  Council  of  Warjudije 
it  nccesHury  to  send  to  them,  after  hciny  better  informed  of  the  matter,  hy  ('aptain 
Goodrich,  now  in  the  service,  if  you  should  issue  out  your  orders  to  Col,  Easton, 
1  make  no  doubt  that  he  could  hring  them  down  soon.  These  Indians  niij^bt  bo  of 
great  service,  should  the  Kln;i'8  troops  march  out  of  Boston,  as  some  think  they 
undoubtedly  will,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  recruits,  and  )i;ivo  no  (us  V)  battle. 

Our  militia,  this  way.  Sir,  arc  vigorously  preparing  for  actual  readiness. 
Adjacent  towns,  and  this  town,  are  buying  arms  and  ammunition.  There  is  a 
plenty  ol  arms  to  be  sold  at  Albany,  as  yet,  but  we  hear,  by  order  of  the  Ma>or, 
etc.,  no  powder  is  to  be  sold,  for  the  present,  there.  The  spirit  of  liberty  runs 
high  there,  as  you  have  doubtless  heard  by  their  post  to  our  head  quarters.  I  have 
exerted  myself  to  disseminate  the  same  spirit  In  King's  District,  wliich  has  of  late 
taken  a  surprising  efl'cct.  The  poor  Tories  at  KiudcrLook  are  mortified  ond  grieved, 
and  are  wheeling  about,  and  begin  to  take  the  quick  step.  New  York  Govern- 
ment begins  to  be  alive  in  the  glorious  cause,  and  to  act  with  great  vigor.  .Some, 
this  way,  say  that  the  King's  troops  will  carry  off  all  the  plate,  merchandize  and 
plunder  of  the  town  of  Boston,  to  pay  them  for  their  ignominious  expedition,  which, 
t'n  my  opinion,  would  not  be  at  all  inconsistent  with  the  shameful  principles  of  those 
toko  have  sent  them  on  so  inglorious  an  expedition. 

I  fer\'cntly  pray.  Sir,  that  our  Council  of  War  may  be  inspired  with  wisdom 
from  above,  to  direct  the  warlike  enterprise  with  prudence,  discretion  and  vigof. 
O I  may  your  councils  and  deliberations  bo  under  the  guidance  and  blessing  of 
Heaven !  Since  I  began,  an  intelligible  person,  who  left  Ticonderoga  Saturday 
before  last,  Informs  me,  that  having  went  through  there  and  Crown  Point  about 
three  weeks  ago,  all  were  secure ;  but,  on  his  return,  he  found  they  were  alarmed 
with  our  expedition,  and  would  not  admit  him  into  the  fort ;  that  there  were 
twelve  soldiers  at  Crown  Point,  and  he  Judged  near  two  hundred  at  Ticonderoga ; 
that  these  forts  are  out  of  repair,  and  much  in  ruins ;  that  It  was  his  own  opinion 
our  men  would  undoubtedly  be  able  to  take  them ;  and  that  ho  met  our  men  last 
Thursday,  who  were  well  furnished  with  cattle,  and  wagons  laden  with  proTisions, 


117 

uiul  In  good  BplrllH,  who,  lio  HiiiipoHi-il,  would  nrrlvo  thoro  laot  HaJibntli  dny,  nnd 
hu  doul)tud  nut  but  HiIh  week  llicy  would  Im  In  poHNCHHlon  of  thoHo  IbrtH.  IIu  In- 
fDrnii'd  llicm  where  thuy  inli^ht  olitiihi  a  pliMity  ol  hull,  uiid  thiTo  aro  riinnoa 
enough  ut  Crown  I'oliit,  whkli  Ihoy  caunol  Hocuro  I'roni  im ;  lliiU  hu  wiw  tlii!  Old 
How  from  Ciipi;  lirelou,  imd  a  nunibttr  of  good  hraMtt  cannon,  at  Tlcondcroga. 
Hhould  tlilH  uxpcditloii  Huccood,  and  Hhoiild  Ihu  Council  of  Warncnd  up  Ihclr  orders 
for  the  peopli!  thlrt  way  to  traUHport  hy  Jaud  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  hcHt  canuou 
to  hcad(|uarteri«,  I  douht  not  but  thu  people  In  thl8  country  would  do  It  with  all 
oxi)udltlon.    VVu  could  uanlly  colloct  a  thouttand  yoke  of  cattio  for  tho  buHlncoB. 

Since  I  wrote  the  last  parnijrnph,  an  etjireiix  hiin  arrived  from  Itenedivt  Arnold, 
Commander  of  the  forces  'ujainitt  Ticonderoija,  for  recruits ;  in  consequence  of 
which,  orders  are  issued  out  for  a  detachment  of  eiyhteen  men  of  each  company  in 
this  regiment  to  march  immediately,  who  will  be  on  their  way  this  day,  I  am.  Sir, 
with  great  respect,  your  obedient  Sttrvant, 

THOMAS  ALLEN." 

I 

I  am  aware  that  It  baa  been  generally  aHSumcd  that  Arnold  went  through  tho 
towuH  ill  Wcatern  Massachunctts,  and  arranged  with  olllcers  there  to  enliwt  his 
men.  Sparks,  in  his  Llfo  of  Allen  (Am.  Blog.,  Vol.  L,  j).  '■iT-i),  says  that  "Arnold 
had  agreed  with  olUcers  In  Stockbridgo  to  enlist  and  forward  such  (men)  as  could 
be  obtained,  making  all  haste  himself  to  Join  tho  oxpcditlou,  which  he  did  not 
hear  was  on  foot  until  he  came  to  that  town."  Smith,  in  his  "  History  of  Pitts* 
Held,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  31!),  says  that  Arnold  "  Is  said  to  have  authorized  culistir  ents  in 
Stockbridgo ;  but,  on  reaching  Pittsficid,  he  learned  of  tho  expedition  which  was 
anticipating  lilm,  and  hastened  to  overtake  It."  But  I  am  not  aware  of  any  cvU 
dencc  proving  that  he  passed  through  either  of  these  towns.  I  therefore  place 
Arnold's  letter  from  Rupert  in  contrast  with  Mr.  Allen's  from  Plttsfleld,  and  leavo 
the  reader  to  judge  for  himself  whether  the  inference  of  the  Text  Is  well  founded. 
For  myself,  I  do  not  believe  that  ho  could  have  passed  through  Plttsfleld,  and 
commenced  enlistments  there  without  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Allen,  tho  Chairman 
of  tho  Plttsfleld  Committee.  If  be  had  done  so,  I  do  nc*  believe  he  would  have 
sent  back  an  express  from  Rupert,  to  the  towns  in  which  he  had  commenced  his  enlist- 
ments, with  the  following  letter,  tirat  published  by  Mr.  Smith,  in  bis  "  History  of 
Plttsfleld : " 

Recport,  8tb  May,  1775. 

Gentlemen  .—By  the  last  information  I  can  get,  there  is  one  hundred  men,  or 
more,  at  Tlconderoga,  who  arc  alarmed  and  keep  a  good  look  out.  I  am  also  in« 
formed  the  sloop  has  gone  to  St.  Johns  for  provisions ;  that  she  had  six  guns 
mounted,  and  twenty  men.  We  have  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  gone  on, 
which  are  not  sufficient  to  secure  the  vessels  and  keep  the  lakes ;  this  ought,  by 
all  means,  to  bo  done,  that  we  may  cut  ofl'  their  communication,  and  stop  all 
supplies  going  to  the  fort,  until  we  can  have  a  sufficient  number  of  men  from  the 
lower  towns. 

I  beg  the  favor  of  you,  gentlemen,  as  far  down  as  this  readies,  to  exert  your- 
selves, and  sead  forward  as  many  men  to  Join  the  army  here  as  you  can  possibly 


118 

spare.    There  Is  plenty  of  provisions  cngngcd,  and  on  the  road,  for  Ave  hundred 

men  six  or  eight  weclts.    Let  every  man  bring  as  much  powder  and  ball  as  he  can ; 

also  a  blanket.    Their  wages  are  408.  per  month,  I  humbly  engaged  to  see  paid|; 

also  the  blankets. 

I  am,  Gentlemen,  your  humble  Servant, 

BENEDICT  ARNOLD, 

Commander  of  the  Forces. 
To  the  Gentlemen  in  the  Southern  Towns. 


NUMBER  XXI.    Page  56. 

BENEDICT  ARNOLD  TO  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  8AFETT. 

TicoNDEUOOA,  May  11, 1775. 
Gentlemen : — I  wrote  you  yesterday,  that,  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place, 
I  found  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  collected  at  the  instance  of  some  gentlemen 
from  Connecticut  (designed  on  the  same  errand  on  which  I  came),  headed  by 
Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  and  that  I  had  joined  them,  not  thinking  proper  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  troops  I  had  engaged  on  the  road,  but  to  attempt  the  fort  by  sur- 
prise ;  that  we  had  taken  the  fort  at  four  o'clock  yesterday  morning,  without  op- 
position, and  had  made  prisoners,  one  Captain,  one  Lieutenant,  and  forty  odd 
privates  and  subalterns,  and  that  we  found  the  fort  in  a  most  ruinous  condition! 
and  not  worth  repairing.  That  a  party  of  fifty  men  were  gone  to  Crotcn  Pointy 
and  that  I  intended  to  follow  wun  as  many  men,  to  seize  the  sloop,  etc.;  and  that 
I  intended  to  keep  possession  here  until  I  had  further  advice  from  you.  On  and 
before  our  taking  possession  here,  I  had  agreed  with  Colonel  Allen  to  issue  furthe 
orders  jointly,  until  I  could  raise  a  sufBclent  number  of  men  to  relieve  liis  people, 
op  which  plan  we  proceeded  when  I  wrote  you  yesterday,  since  which,  Colonel 
Allen,  finding  he  had  the  ascendency  over  his  people,  positively  insisted  I  should 
have  no  command,  as  I  had  forbid  the  soldiers  plundering  and  destroying  private 
property.  The  power  is  now  taken  out  of  my  hands,  and  I  am  not  consulted ; 
nor  have  I  a  voice  in  any  matters.  There  is  here,  at  present,  near  one  hundred 
men,  who  are  in  the  greatest  confusion  and  anarchy,  destroying  and  plundering 
private  property,  committing  every  enormity,  and  paying  no  attention  to  publick 
service.  The  party  I  advised  were  gone  to  Crown  Point,  are  returned,  having  met 
with  head  winds,  and  that  expedition,  and  taking  the  sloop  (mounted  with  six 
guns),  is  entirely  laid  aside.  There  is  not  the  least  regularity  among  the  troops, 
but  everything  is  governed  by  whim  and  caprice,— the  soldiers  threatening  to  leave 
the  garrison  on  the  least  affront.  Most  of  them  must  return  home  soon,  as  their 
families  are  suffering.  Under  our  present  situation,  I  believe  one  hundred  men 
would  retake  the  fortress,  and  there  seems  no  prospect  of  things  being  in  a  better 
situation.  I  have,  therefore,  thought  proper  to  send  an  express,  advising  you  of 
the  state  of  affairs,  not  doubting  you  will  take  the  matter  into  your  serious  con- 
sideration, and  order  a  number  of  troops  to  join  those  I  have  coming  on  here ;  or 
that  you  will  appoint  some  other  person  to  take  the  command  of  them  and  this 
place,  as  yon  shall  thiuk  most  proper.    Colonel  Allen  is  it  proper  man  to  head  his 


119 

own  wJlcl  people,  but  entirely  unncquainted  with  military  service ;  and  as  I  am  the 
only  person  who  has  been  legally  authorized  to  take  possession  of  this  place,  I  am 
determined  to  insist  on  my  right,  and  I  think  it  my  duty  to  remain  hero  against 
all  opposition,  until  I  have  further  orders.  I  cannot  comply  with  your  orders  in 
regard  to  the  cannon,  etc.,  for  want  of  men.  I  have  wrote  to  the  Governor  and 
General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  advising  them  of  my  appointment,  and  giving 
them  an  exact  detail  of  matters  as  they  stand  at  present.  I  should  be  extremely 
glad  to  be  honorably  acquitted  of  my  commission,  and  that  a  proper  person  might 
be  appointed  in  my  room.  But  as  I  have,  in  consequence  of  my  orders  irom  you, 
gentlemen,  been  the  first  person  who  entered  and  took  possession  of  the  fort,  I 
shall  keep  it,  at  every  hazard,  until  I  have  further  advice  and  orders  from  you  and 
the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  humble  Servant, 

BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 
P.  8.  It  is  impossible  to  advise  you  how  :::iny  cannon  are  here  and  at  Crown 
Point,  as  many  of  them  arc  buried  in  the  ruins.  There  is  a  large  number  of  iron, 
and  some  brass,  and  mortars,  etc.,  lying  on  the  edge  of  the  lake,  which,  as  the 
lake  is  high,  are  covered  with  water.  The  confusion  we  have  been  in  has  pre- 
vented my  getting  proper  information,  further  than  that  there  are  many  cannon 
flhells,  mortars,  etc.,  which  may  be  very  serviceable  to  our  army  at  Cambridge. 

B.  A. 


NUMBERS  XXII  and  XXIII.    Page  58. 

The  proof  that  the  expedition  to  Crown  Point  had  not  "  been  entirely  laid 
aside,"  and  that  Arnold  must  have  known  it,  is  found  in  No.  XII.  of  this  Ap- 
pendix. 

ARNOLD  TO  MASSACHUSETTS  COMMITTEE  OP  SAFETT. 

TicoNDEROGA,  May  14, 1775. 
Gentlemen : — My  last  was  the  11th  instant,  per  express,  since  which  a  party  of 
men  have  seized  on  Croion  Point,  in  which  they  took  eleven  prisoners,  and  found 
sixty-one  pieces  of  cannon  serviceable,  and  fifty  three  unfit  for  service.  I  ordered 
a  party  to  Skenesborough,  to  take  Major  Skene,  who  have  made  him  prisoner,  and 
seized  a  small  schooner,  which  is  just  ari-ived  here.  I  intend  setting  out  in  her 
directly,  with  a  batteau  and  fifty  men,  to  take  possession  of  the  sloop,  which,  we 
are  advised  this  morning  by  the  post,  is  at  St.  Johns,  loaded  with  provisions,  etc., 
waiting  a  wind  for  this  place.  Enclosed  is  a  list  of  cannon,  etc.,  here,  though  im- 
perfect, as  we  have  found  many  pieces  not  included,  and  some  arc  on  the  edge  of 
the  lake,  covered  with  water.  I  am,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Bernard  Romans, 
making  preparation  at  Fort  George  for  transporting  to  Albany  those  cannon  that 
will  be  serviceable  to  our  army  at  Cambridge.  I  have  about  one  hundred  men  here, 
and  expect  more  every  minute.  Mr.  Allen's  party  is  decreasing,  and  the  dispute 
between  us  subsiding.  I  am  extremely  sorry  matters  have  not  bien  transacted 
with  more  prudence  and  judgment.    I  have  done  everything  in  my  power,  and 


120 

put  up  with  many  Insults  to  prcRervo  peace  and  serve  the  pnbllck.  I  hope  soon  to 
be  properly  released  from  this  troublesome  business,  that  some  more  proper  per- 
son may  be  appointed  in  my  room ;  till  which,  I  am,  very  respectfully,  gentlemen, 
your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

BENEDICT  ARNOLD, 

P.  8.  Since  writing  the  above,  Mr.  Romans  concludes  going  to  Albany  to  for- 
ward carriages  for  the  cannon,  etc.,  and  provisions,  which  will  soon  be  wanted.  I 
beg  leave  to  observe  he  has  been  of  great  service  hf  re,  and  I  think  him  a  very 
spirited,  judicious  gentlemen,  who  has  the  service  of  the  country  much  at  heart, 
and  hope  he  will  meet  proper  encouragement. 

B.A. 


NUMBER  XXIV.    Page  63. 

MASSACHUSETTS  CONGBBSS  TO  BENEDICT  ABWOLD. 

Watebtown,  May  33, 1775. 
Sir : — This  Congress  have  this  day  received  your  letter  of  the  11th  instant, 
informing  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  reduction  of  the  Fort  at  Ticonderoga, 
with  its  dependencies,  which  was  laid  before  this  Congress  by  said  Committee. 
We  applaud  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  and  esteem  it  a  very  valuable  acquisition. 
We  thank  you  for  your  exertions  in  the  cause,  and  considering  the  situation 
of  this  Colony  at  this  time,  having  a  formidable  army  in  the  heart  of  it,  whose 
motions  must  be  constantly  attended  to,  and  as  the  affairs  of  that  expedition  began 
in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  and  the  cause  being  common  to  us  all,  we  have 
already  wrote  to  the  General  Assembly  of  that  Colony  to  take  the  whole  matter 
respecting  the  same  under  their  care  and  direction,  until  the  advice  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  can  be  had  in  that  behalf,  a  copy  of  which  letter  we  now  enclose 
to  you. 

,  We  are,  etc." 


On  the  same  day,  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety  laid  Arnold's  letter 
of  May  11th  before  the  Provincial  Congress  of  that  State,  and  requested  that  body 
to  "  proceed  thereon,  in  such  manner  as  to  them  in  their  wisdom  shall  seem  meet," 
adding  the  remark,  "  this  Committee,  apprehend  it  to  be  out  of  their  province  in 
any  respect  whatever."  The  following  is  the  letter  in  which  the  Committee,  antici- 
pating Arnold'a  refusal  to  yield  up  his  command,  relieve  themselves  ol  all  further 
responsibility  in  the  matter.  This  letter  shows  that  Arnold  not  only  had  no  com- 
mission or  authority  from  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  but  that  all  the  authority 
he  had  was  derived  from  the  Committee  of  Safety.  Arnold's  claim  that  he  was 
commissioned  by  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts  was  unfounded.  On  the  36th  of 
May,  the  Congress  were  obliged  to  call  upon  the  Committee  to  ascertain  the  nature 
and  extent  of  its  arrangements  with  Arnold. 


121 

UA88AOH08ETTB  COMHITTEB  OF  SAFBTT  TO  BENBNIOT  ARNOLD. 

"  Cambkidoe,  May  28, 1775. 
The  expedition  to  Ticonderoga,  etc.,  requiring  secrecy,  iLe  Congress  of  this 
Colony  was  not  acquainted  with  the  orders  you  received  from  this  Committee.  It 
gives  us  great  pleasure  to  be  Informed  by  the  express.  Captain  Brown,  that  the 
success  you  have  met  with  is  answerable  to  your  spirit  in  the  undertaking.  We 
have  now  to  acquaint  you  that  the  Congress  have  taken  up  this  matter,  and  given  the 
necessary  directions  respecting  these  acquisitions.  It  is  then,  Sir,  become  your  duty, 
and  is  our  requirement,  that  you  conform  yourself  to  such  advice  and  orders  as  you 
thall  from  time  to  time  receive  from  that  body."    We  are,  etc." 


NUMBER  XXV.      Page  69. 

The  instructions  of  the  Massachusetts  Congress  to  the  Committee  were  dated 
June  14th.  It  is  evident  from  their  tenor,  that  Arnold  no  longer  retained  the 
confidence  of  that  Congress,  and  although  he  had  some  time  before,  while  claim- 
ing to  act  under  Massachusetts,  put  himself  in  direct  communication  with  the 
Continental  Congress,  his  cfiurts  to  secure  the  confidence  of  that  body  had  met 
with  no  success,  for  on  the  30th  of  May,  immediately  after  the  receipt  of  a  letter 
from  Arnold,  stating  that  be  had  "  certain  intelligence  "  that  four  hundred  regu- 
lars were  at  St.  Johns,  about  to  be  joined  by  a  large  number  of  Indians,  for  the 
purpose  of  retaking  Ticonderoga !  "  the  Continental  Congress  "  ordered  that  the 
President,  in  his  letter,  acquaint  Governor  Trumbull  that  it  is  the  desire  of  the 
Congress  that  he  should  appoint  a  person  in  whom  he  can  confide,  to  command  the 
forces  at  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga." — (See  Journals  of  Cong,,  1775,  p.  111.) 

Colonel  Hinmau,  appointed  under  this  resolution,  was  on  the  way  to  Ticon- 
deroga, with  his  regiment.  Arnold  now  made  another  desperate  efifort  to  retain 
the  control  of  affairs  on  this  frontier.  On  the  13th  of  June,  he  addressed  a  long 
letter  to  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  urging  an  invasion  of  Canada.  Two  weeks 
before,  he  had  written  that  the  Indians  of  Canada,  with  four  hundred  Regulars, 
were  at  St.  Johns,  on  their  way  to  recapture  the  forts  on  the  lake.  Now,  he  has 
the  "agreeable  intelligence  that  the  Indians  are  determined  not  to  assist  the 
King's  troops ; "  that  the  "  Canadians  are  very  impatient  of  our  delay,  and  are 
determined  to  Join  us,  whenever  we  appear  in  the  country  with  any  force  to 
support  them ; "  that  "  Gov.  Carleton,  by  every  artifice,  has  been  able  to  raise  only 
about  twenty  Canadians,"  and  that  if  "  Congress  should  think  proper  to  take 
possession  of  Montreal  and  Quebeck,  (he  is,)  I  am  positive  two  thousand  men 
might  very  easily  effect  it "  He  then  suggests  a  plan  of  the  expedition,  and  urges 
upon  Congress  the  necessity  of  undertaking  it.  His  letter  closes  with  a  "  Memor- 
andum :  "  "  Propose,  in  order  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  different  Colonies,  that 
Colonel  Hinmau's  Regiment,  now  on  their  march  from  Connecticut  to  Ticonder- 
oga, should  form  part  of  the  army — say  one  thousand  men ;  500  do.  to  be  sent 
from  New  York,  including  one  company  of  one  hundred  men,  of  the  train  of 
artillery,  properly  equipped ;  500  do.  B.  AmokPa  Regiment,  including  seamen  and 
martnea  on  board  the  vessels  !  (No  Green  Mountain  Boys  I ")  etc.  This  letter  also 
9 


122 

contained  the  agreeable  intelligence  that  the  Indians  of  Canada  "  have  made  a 
lav,  that  if  any  one  of  thetr  tribe  ehail  take  up  arms  for  that  purpose  (to  assist 
the  King's  troops)  he  shall  immediately  be  put  to  death ! " 

On  the  same  day,  June  13,  Arnold  wrote  the  Governor  oi  Connecticut,  urging 
the  invasion  of  Canada,  and  stating  that  five  chief  men  of  the  ludians,  "who  are 
now  here  with  their  wives  and  children,  and  press  very  hard  for  our  army  to 
march  into  Canada,  as  they  are  much  disgusted  with  the  regular  troops."  Gov. 
Carletoo  '■  is  much  disgusted  with  the  merchants  of  Montreal,  and  has  threatened 
them,  if  they  will  not  defend  the  city,  in  case  of  an  attaclc,  he  will  set  fire  to  it, 
and  rt treat  to  Quebec." 

Thu  extravagance  of  this  letter  defeated  its  purpose.  Not  the  slightest  atton  - 
tion  was  paid  to  it  by  Connecticut  or  the  Continental  Congress,— their  confidence 
in  Arnold  no  longer  existed.  The  action  of  the  Massachusetts  Congress,  already 
mentioned,  followed.  Its  minute  instructions  to  its  committee  of  Juno  14,  plainly 
show  its  determination  to  withdraw  all  its  authority  from  Arnold,  unless,  as  the 
instructions  stated,  "  he  was  willing  to  continue  at  one  or  both  of  the  said  posts, 
under  the  command  of  such  chief  officer  as  is,  or  shall  be,  appointed  h  the  Govern- 
ment of  Connecticut."  In  any  other  event,  the  committee  was  to  direct  Arnold 
"  to  return  to  this  Colony,  and  render  his  account  of  the  disposition  of  the  money, 
ammunition  and  other  things,  which  he  received  at  his  setting  out  upon  his  expe- 
dition ;  and  also  of  the  charges  he  has  incurred,  and  the  debts  which  he  has  con- 
tracted  in  behalf  of  this  Colony,  by  virtue  of  the  .commissions  and  instructions 
aforesaid."  • 

When  Colonel  Hinman's  regiment  reached  Ticonderoga,  Arnold  was  fully 
advised  of  the  only  terms  upon  which  he  could  continue  in  the  service.  His 
reception  and  treatment  of  the  committee,  therefore,  deserves  particular  mention* 


BEPOBT  OT  TBB  OBOWN  POINT   OOHMITTBB   TO    THB   MASSACHUSETTS  CONGBESSt 

Cambiudge,  July  6, 1775. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  proceed  to  the  posts  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  etc.,  beg  leave  to  report,  that  they  proceeded  through  the  new  settlements, 
called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  carefully  observed  the  road  through  the 
same,  and  find  that  there  is  a  good  road  from  Williamstown  to  the  place  where 
the  road  crosseth  the  river  called  Paulet  River,  which  is  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Skenesborouffh ;  from  thence  to  the  falls  of  Wood  Creek,  near  Major  Skene's 
bouse,  the  road  is  not  feasible,  and  unfit  for  carriages,  but  cattle  may  be  drove  that 
way  very  well. 

Your  Committee,  having  taken  with  them  the  copies  of  the  commission  and 
instruction  from  the  Committee  of  Safety  to  Col.  Benedict  Arnold,  and  informed 
themselves,  as  fully  as  they  were  able,  in  what  manner  he  had  executed  his  said 
commission  and  instructions,  and  find  that  he  was  with  Colonel  'Allen  and  others  at 
the  time  the  fort  was  reduced,  but  do  not  find  that  he  had  any  men  under  his  com- 
mand at  the  time  of  the  reduction  of  those  fortresses  ;  but  find  that  he  did  after- 
wards poBsesB  himself  of  the  eloop  on  the  lake  at  St.  Johns.    We  find  the  said 


123 

Arnold  claiming  tbe  command  of  said  elQcp  and  a  schooner,  which  is  sai^to  be 
the  property  of  Major  Skene,  and  also  ail  the  posts  and  fortresses  at  the  soinn  end 
of  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George,  although  Colonel  Hiuman  was  at  Ticonder- 
oga  with  near  a  thousand  mm  under  liis  command  nt  the  sevenil  posts. 

Your  Committee  informed  the  said  Arnold  of  their  commission,  and,  at  his 
request,  gave  him  a  copy  of  their  instructions ;  upon  reading  of  which  he  seemed 
greatly  disconcerted,  and  declared  he  would  not  be  second  in  command  to  any 
person  whomsoever ;  and  after  some  time  contemplating  upon  the  matter,  resigned 
his  post,  and  gave  your  Comraitteo  his  resignation  under  his  hand,  dated  the  24th 
of  June,  1775,  which  is  herewith  submitted,  and  at  the  same  time  ordered  his 
men  to  be  disbanded,  which,  he  said,  was  between  two  and  three  hundred.  Tour 
Committee  not  finding  any  men  regularly  under  said  Arnold,  by  reason  of  his  so 
disbanding  them,  appointed  Colonel  Easton,  who  was  then  at  Ticonderoga,  to  take 
the  command,  under  Colonel  Hinman,  who  was  the  principal  commanding  officer 
of  those  posts,  of  the  Connecticut  forces,  and  endeavored  to  give  the  officers  and 
men  who  liad  served  under  said  Arnold  an  opportunity  to  re-engage,  of  which 
numbers  enlisted,  and  several  of  the  officers  agreed  to  hold  their  command  under 
the  new  appointment.  ######•# 

Your  Committee  found  that  as  soon  as  Col.  Arnold  had  disbanded  his  men, 
some  of  them  became  dissallsfied  and  mutinous,  and  many  of  them  signified  to 
the  Committee  that  they  had  been  informed  that  they  were  to  be  defrauded  out  of 
the  pay  for  past  services.  The  Committee,  in  order  to  quiet  them,  engaged  under 
their  hands,  in  behalf  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  that  as  soon  as  the 
rolls  should  be  made  up  and  properly  authenticated,  they  should  be  paid  for  their 
past  services,  and  all  those  who  should  engage  anew  should  have  the  same  wages 
and  bounty  as  is  promised  to  those  men  who  servo  within  said  Colony." 

Tour  Committee,  when  they  had  received  Col.  Arnold's  resignation,  directed 
him  to  return  to  Congress,  and  render  an  account  of  his  proceedings,  agreeable  to 
their  instructions,  a  copy  of  which  order  is  herewith  submitted." 

The  remaining  portions  of  the  report  have  no  reference  to  Arnold.  The  Com- 
mittee recognized  Easton  as  Colonel,  appointed  John  Brown  Major,  and  Jonas  Fay 
Surgeon  of  the  Post,  and  advised  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  New  York 
Convention  of  the  importance  of  holding  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  The 
following  letter  from  Edward  Mott  to  Governor  Trumbull  supplies  some  incidents 
in  the  Committee's  experienco  which  policy  would  have  prohibited  them  from 
making  public  at  that  time : 

•'Albany,  July  6, 1775. 
HoNORBD  Sib: — I  arrived  here  last  night,  ten  o'clock,  from  Ticonderoga;  am 
sent  express  by  Col.  Hinman,  to  acquaint  tbe  committee  at  this  place,  and  also  tlie 
Provincial  Congress  at  New  York,  with  the  condition  of  tbe  troops  and  garrisons 
at  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point  and  Fort  George ;  expect  to  set  out  from  hence  to 
New  York  tomorrow ;  have  not  as  yet  waited  on  the  committee  here,  but  write 
ttiese  lines  by  Captain  Stevens,  who  will  not  tarry,  but  sets  out  for  home  this  mom- 


124 

\ng.  When  I  arrived  at  Ticonderoga,  Coloucl  Hinman  had  no  command  there,  ag 
Colonel  Arnold  refused  to  let  him  command  either  of  the  garrisons,  but  had  given 
the  command  of  Ticonderoga  to  Captain  Herricfc,  from  whom  Colonel  Hinman's  men 
were  obliged  to  take  their  orders,  or  were  not  suff'ered  to  pass  to  and  from  the  garri- 
son. The  same  day,  a  committee  of  three  gentlemen  from  Massachusetts,  viz. :  Mr. 
Spooner,  Colonel  Foster  and  Colonel  Sullivan,  returned  to  Ticonderoga  from  Crown 
Point,  and  informed  us  that  they  had  been  to  Colonel  Arnold,  with  orders  from 
the  Congress  requiring  him  to  resign  the  command  to  Colonel  Hinman,  and  that 
be,  with  his  regiment,  should  come  under  the  command  of  snid  Hinman,  which 
said  Ariw Id  positively  refused;  on  which  the  said  Cominittee  discharged  Colonel 
Arnold  from  the  service,  and  desired  the  jn-ivilege  to  speak  with  the  people  who  had 
engaged  under  Arnold,  but  were  refused.  They  further  informed  that  Colonel 
Arnold  and  some  oj  his  people  had  gone  on  board  the  vessels;  that  they  understood 
they  threatened  to  go  to  St.  Johns  and  deliver  the  vessels  to  the  Regulars ;  and  that 
Arnold  had  disbanded  all  his  troops  but  those  that  were  on  board  said  vessels  ;  that 
they  were  treated  very  ill,  and  threatened,  and  after  they  came  away  in  a  batteau, 
they  were  fired  upon  with  swivel-guns,  and  small  arms  by  Arnold's  people ;  and  that 
Colonel  Arnold  and  his  men  had  got  bbth  the  vessels,  and  were  drawn  off  into  the 
lake.  On  which  I  desired  Colonel  Hinman  to  let  me,  with  Lieutenant  Halsey  and 
Mr.  Duer  (who  was  Judge  of  the  Court  for  the  County  of  Charlotte,  in  this 
Colony),  with  some  men  to  row,  have  a  batteau,  and  proceed  up  the  lake,  and  go 
on  board  the  vessels.  We  obtained  liberty,  and  Colonel  Unllivan  cousented  to  gc 
with  us.  We  got  on  board  the  vessels  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
he  confined  three  of  us  on  board  each  vessel ;  men  set  over  us  with  fixed  bayonets, 
and  BO  kept  us  till  some  time  in  the  evening,  whcu  we  were  dismissed  and  suffered 
to  return.  We  reasoned  with  the  people  on  board  the  vessels  all  the  while  we 
were  there,  and  convinced  some  of  them  of  their  errour,  who  declared  they  had 
been  deceived  by  Colonel  Arnold.  After  we  returned  to  the  fort,  called  up  Colonel 
Hinman,  who  ordered  Lieutenant  Halsey,  with  twenty-five  men,  to  return  again  to 
the  vessels,  and  get  what  people  he  could  on  board  to  join  him,  and  bring  one  or 
both  vessels  to  the  fort,  which  was  all  settled  the  next  day.  Colonel  Sullivan  was 
much  insulted  while  we  were  on  board  the  vessels,  chiefly  by  Mr.  Brown,  one  of  Col. 
Arnold's  captains.  Captain  Stevens,  who  is  waiting  while  I  write  these  lines,  will 
not  wait  longer,  or  you  should  hear  more  particulars.  I  expect  you  will  have  a 
full  account  Irom  the  gentlemen  committee,  after  they  have  laid  it  before  their 
Congress.  Captain  Elijah  Babcock  can  give  n  full  account  of  these  matters ;  her 
tells  me  he  shall  be  at  Hartford  in  a  few  days.  Shall  give  further  accounts  from 
New  York.     I  am,  Sir,  at  command,  your  Honor's  most  obedient  and  humble 

Servant, 

EDWARD  MOTT. 

To  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Esq.,  Governor." 


NUMBER  XXVI.    Page  83. 
The  iollowing  is  Mr.  Irving's  account  of  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  from 
his  "Life  of  Washington,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  402-5.    It  is  inserted  here  %s  well  to  justify 


126 

thio  statements  of  the  te*t,  as  to  show  the  Judgment  of  an  impartial  and  tinpre* 
judiccd  historian  upon  the  general  facts  relating  to  the  expedition.  Although 
lucorrcct  In  some  of  its  minor  details,  sueh  as  the  date  of  the  capture  of  Crown 
Point,  and  Arnold's  enlistment  of  men  in  Western  Massachusetts,  wherein  Mr. 
Irring  has  followed  Mr.  Sparks,  the  relation  generally  is  as  correct  as  it  is  vivid 
and  exciting : 

"As  affairs  were  now  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  war  was  considered  inevitable, 
some  bold  spirits  in  Connecticut  conceived  a  project  for  the  outset.  This  was  the 
eurprisal  of  the  old  Forts  of  Tlconderoga  and  Crown  Point,  already  famous  in  the 
French  war.  Their  situation  on  Lake  ChampKilu  gave  them  the  command  of  the 
main  route  to  Canada ;  so  that  the  possession  of  them  would  be  all-important  in 
case  of  hostilities.  They  were  feebly  garrisoned  and  negligently  guarded,  and 
abundantly  furnished  with  artillery  and  military  stores,  so  much  needed  by  the 
patriot  army. 

"  The  scheme  was  set  on  foot  in  the  purlieus,  as  it  were,  of  the  Provincial 
Legislature  of  Connecticut,  then  in  session.  It  was  not  openly  sanctioned  by  that 
body^  but  secretly  favored,  and  money  lent  from  the  treasury  to  those  engaged  in 
it.  A  committee  was  appointed,  also,  to  accompany  them  to  the  frontier,  aid  them 
in  raising  troops,  and  exercif ;  over  them  a  degree  of  superintendance  and  control. 

"Sixteen  men  were  thus  enlisted  in  Connecticut,  a  greater  number  in  Massa- 
chusetts, but  the  greatest  accession  of  force  was  from  what  was  called  the  "New 
Hampshire  Grants."  This  was  a  region  having  the  Connecticut  River  on  one  side, 
and  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River  oh  the  other, — being,  in  fact,  the 
tountry  forming  the  present  State  of  Vermont.  It  had  long  been  a  disputed  ter- 
ritory, claimed  by  New  York  aud  New  Hampshire.  George  II.  had  decided  in 
favor  of  New  York,  but  the  Qoverrior  of  New  Hampshire  had  made  grants  of  be- 
tween one  and  two  hundred  townships  In  it,  whence  it  had  acquired  the  name  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  The  settlers  on  these  Grants  resisted  the  attempts  of 
New  York  to  eject  them,  and  fornled  themselves  into  an  association  called  "  The 
Green  Mountain  Boys."  Resolute,  strong-handed  fellows  they  were,  with  Ethan 
Allen  at  their  head,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  but  brought  up  among  the  Green 
Mountains.  He  aud  his  Lieutenants,  Seth  Warner  and  Remember  Baker,  were 
outlawed  by  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  and  rewards  offered  for  their  appre- 
hension. They  and  their  associates  armed  themselves,  set  New  York  at  defiance, 
and  swore  they  would  be  the  death  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  their  arrest. 

"Thus  Ethan  Allen  was  becoming  a  kind  of  Robin  Hood  among  the  moun- 
tains, when  the  present  crisis  changed  the  relative  position  of  things,  as  if  by 
magic.  Boundary  feuds  were  forgotten  amid  the  great  questions  of  Colonial  rights. 
Ethan  Allen  at  once  stepped  forward,  a  patriot,  and  volunteered,  with  his  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  to  serve  in  the  popular  cause.  He  was  well  fitted  for  the  enter- 
prise In  question,  by  his  experience  as  a  frontier  champion,  his  robustness  of  mind 
and  bodj',  and  his  fearless  spirit.  He  had  a  rough  eloquence,  also,  that  was  very 
effective  with  his  followers.  'His  style,'  says  one  who  knew  him  personally,  'was 
a  singular  compound  of  local  barbarisms,  scriptural  phrases  and  oriental  wildness; 
and  although  unclassic,  and  sometimes  uugrammatical,  was  .highly  animated  and 


126 

forcible'    Wasblngton,  in  one  of  his  letters,  snya  there  was  *  an  original  some« 
thing  in  him  which  commanded  admiration  I ' 

"Tims  reinforced,  tlio  party,  now  two  hundred  and  seventy  strong,  poshed 
forward  to  Casliutou,  a  phico  within  a  Ibw  miles  of  the  head  of  Lalce  Champlaln. 
Here  a  councli  of  war  was  held  ontiic  2d  (8th  V)  of  May.  Etlinn  Allen  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  cxpcdiliou,  and  James  Easton  and  8eth  Warner  as  second  and 
third  in  command.  Detachments  were  sent  off  to  Slicnesborough,  (now  White- 
hall,) und  another  place  on  the  lai;c,  with  orders  to  seize  all  the  boats  they  conld 
find,  and  bring  them  to  Shorcbam,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  whither  Allen  prepared 
to  proceed  with  the  main  body. 

"At  this  juncture,  another  adventurous  spirit  arrived  at  Costieton.  This  was 
Benedict  Arnold,  since  so  sadly  rcnouncd.  He,  too,  liad  conceived  the  project  of 
surprising  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point;  or, perhaps,  had  caught  the  idea  from 
its  first  agitators  in  Connecticut,  in  tlie  militia  of  which  Province  he  lield  a  cnpt'ilu's 
commission.  He  had  proposed  the  scheme  to  the  Massaciiusctts  Committee  of 
Safety.  It  had  met  with  their  approbation.  They  had  given  liim  a  Colonel's  com- 
mission ;  authorized  him  to  raise  a  force  in  Western  Massachusetts,  not  exceeding 
four  hundred  men,  and  furnished  him  with  money  and  means.  Arnold  hud  en- 
listed but  a  few  officers  and  men,  when  he  heard  of  the  expedition  from  Connecti- 
cut being  on  the  march.  He  instantly  hurried  on,  with  one  attendant,  to  over- 
take  it,  leaving  his  few  recruits  to  follow  as  beat  they  could.  In  this  way  he 
reached  Castleton,  just  after  the  eouncii  of  war. 

"  Producing  the  Colonel's  commission  received  from  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  he  now  aspired  to  the  supreme  commi.nd.  His  claims  were  dis- 
regarded by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  ;  they  would  follow  no  leader  but  Ethan 
Allen.  As  they  formed  the  majority  of  the  party,  Arnold  was  fain  to  acquiesce, 
and  £>erve  as  a  volunteer,  with  the  ranlt,  but  not  the  command,  of  Colonel. 

"Tbe  party  arrived  at  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  on  the  night  of  the 
9th  of  May.  The  detachment  sent  in  quest  of  boats,  had  failed  to  arrive.  There 
were  a  few  boats  at  hand,  with  which  the  transportation  was  commenced.  It  was 
Blow  work ;  tlie  night  wore  away  ;  day  was  about  to  break,  and  but  eighty-threo 
men,  with  Allen  and  Arnold,  had  crossed.  Should  they  wait  for  the  residue,  day 
would  dawn,  the  garrison  waice,  and  their  enterprise  might  fail.  Allen  drew  up 
his  men,  addressed  them  in  his  own  emphatic  style,  and  announced  his  intention 
to  make  a  dash  at  the  fort,  without  waiting  for  more  force.  'It  is  a  desperate 
attempt,'  said  he ;  '  and  I  ask  no  man  to  go  ogainst  his  will.  I  will  take  the  lead, 
and  be  the  first  to  advance.  You  that  are  willing  to  follow,  poise  your  firelocks.' 
Not  a  flreioek  but  was  poised. 

"They  mounted  the  hill  briskly,  but  in  silence,  guided  by  a  boy  from  the 
neighbDrhood.  The  day  dawned  as  Allen  arrived  at  a  sally-port.  A  sentry  pulled 
trigger  on  him,  but  ills  piece  missed  fire.  He  retreated  through  a  covered  way. 
Allen  and  his  men  followed.  Another  sentry  thrust  at  Easton  with  his  bayonet, 
but  was  struck  down  by  Allen,  and  begged  lor  quarter.  It  was  granted  on  con- 
dition of  his  leading  the  way,  instantly  to  the  quarters  of  the  Commandant,  Capt. 
Delaplaco,  who  was  yet  in  bed.    Being  arrived  there,  Allen  thundered  at  tbe  door, 


127 

and  drmnndcd  a  surrender  of  the  fort.  By  this  time  his  followers  had  formed  Into 
two  Hues  on  the  parade  jjrouiid,«nd  given  three  hearty  cheers.  The  Coiuniundant 
oppeared  at  his  door,  half  dressed,  "  the  frightened  face  of  his  pretty  wife  peering 
over  his  shoulder.'  lie  gazed  at  Alk'  In  bewildered  astonishment.  '  By  whoso 
authority  do  you  act?'  exclaimed  he.  'In  the  numo  ol  the  Ureat  Jehovah,  and 
the  Coutlncntnl  Congress!'  replied  Allen,  with  a  flourish  of  his  sword,  and  uu 
oath,  which  we  do  not  caro  to  subjoin. 

"There  was  no  disputing  the  point.  The  garrison,  like  the  commander,  bad 
been  startled  from  sleep,  and  made  prisoners  as  they  iiishcd  forth  in  their  con- 
Aislon.  A  surrender  accordingly  took  place.  The  captain,  and  forty-eight  men, 
which  composed  the  garrison,  were  sent  prisoners  to  Hartford,  in  Connecticut. 
A  great  supply  of  military  and  uaval  stores,  so  important  in  tho  present  crisis, 
was  found  in  the  fortress. 

«'  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  who  had  brought  over  the  residue  of  the  party  from 
Bhorebam,  was  now  sent  with  a  detachment  against  Crown  Point,  which  surren- 
dered on  the  l'.jth  of  May,  without  firing  a  gun.  Ucrc  were  taken  upward  of  a 
hundred  cannon. 

"Arnold  now  insisted  vehemently  on  his  right  to  command  Tlconderoga; 
being,  as  he  said,  the  only  officer  Invested  with  legal  authority.  Ills  claims  had 
again  to  yield  to  the  superior  popularity  of  Ethan  Allen,  to  whom  tho  Connecticut 
Committee,  which  had  accompanied  tho  enterprise,  gave  an  Instrument  In  writing, 
investing  him  with  tho  command  of  the  fortress  and  Its  dependencies,  until  he 
■hould  receive  the  orders  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly  or  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. Arnold,  while  forced  to  acquiesce,  sent  a  protest,  and  a  statement  of  his 
grievances  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  •  #  #  #  # 

"  Thus  a  partisan  band,  unpractised  In  the  art  of  war,  had,  by  a  series  of 
daring  exploits,  and  almost  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  won  for  the  patriots  the 
command  ol  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  and  thrown  open  the  great  highway 
to  Canada. 


